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  • From: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
  • To: Rich Snover <risnover AT aol.com>, Lewis Cauble <lewis AT hivebody.com>
  • Cc: Rich Snover via ocba <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] virgin queen
  • Date: Sat, 02 May 2015 12:12:01 -0400

Just as a bit of quite useful trivia, Francois Huber discovered over 200 years ago that virgin queens who are detained from mating past about two weeks of emergence will always be drone layers, not successful worker-laying queens. It isn't clear why that is true but that's the way it goes. So while banking queens (caging them and keeping them until needed) is okay, banking virgins doesn't work.

Huber was blind (he was quite a guy, not letting his so-called handicap affect his life); the queens weren't. But the outcomes would be the same if it had been the other way around.

Randall

On 5/2/2015 8:14 AM, Rich Snover via ocba wrote:
D31CA23F-7D96-4B63-9C46-6CE391A09781 AT aol.com" type="cite">
14 weeks are for blind queens that have trouble finding the boys. Ha ha

Sent from my iPhone

On May 1, 2015, at 8:04 PM, Lewis Cauble <lewis AT hivebody.com> wrote:

14 days might be a reasonable time to wait for a virgin to start laying but 14 weeks is a recipe for hive beetles and wax moth infestation.


Lewis


On May 1, 2015 at 11:58 AM Rich Snover via ocba <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org> wrote:

Depends on weather and location of the boys may take time to get mated and lay eggs

Sent from my iPhone

On May 1, 2015, at 11:41 AM, Walter Starks < walterstarks AT icloud.com> wrote:

And why wait 14 weeks?

______

Walter




Sent from my iPhone

On May 1, 2015, at 10:13 AM, Marty Hanks < marty AT justbeenc.com> wrote:

Rich

Why would you requeen the 2 big hive bodies? 
Mh

Sent from my iPhone

On May 1, 2015, at 9:56 AM, risnover--- via ocba < ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org> wrote:

Last week I caught(by bare hand) the biggest swarm that I have ever seen. It filled two hive bodies and one nuke.

Maybe multiple virgin queens, 9 days latter saw eggs in two hive bodies and needed to requeen in the nuke but all three are doing well... Bottom line after 14 weeks I would re-queen

Rich
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