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  • From: Marty Hanks <marty AT justbeenc.com>
  • To: NaturalBeesinNC AT yahoogroups.com, Orange County Bees <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [ocba] Lesson learned....i think!
  • Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2013 21:08:02 -0400

Hey Gang,

So i got off work in time to catch some warm temps. So i wanted to check on that frame of queen cells I took from the LeCluyse hive the day i was there and we found the "piping" queen(2 days ago). This frame was 2 over from the one she was on. It had 5 queen cells on it that were still in tact. So i luckily had a deep frame of pollen with me and i swapped it out for the one w/ queen cells and ran home. I put it in a nuc box w/ a pollen and nectar frame and then i grabbed a deep frame from the original split i did on 3-13. I figured that since this new frame and a few bees on it would smell similar enough...ha ha. but it went well. I put in a frame with egg to emerging brood and shook in 2 other frames to increase the nurse bees.

So tonight i went in....and the first video is what i found on that frame. ALL but one cell had been ripped open. I found this VERY interestingly looking queen on the frame. ** Does she look like a Russian mix to anyone?? ** She moved very fast and looks a lot different that the "piping" queen. The video is short due to my editing...umm you'll see why i edited it! :-/

The second video is 45 mins later and of a different queen i found in that nuc! So either both emerged near the same time or WORSE...that 1 deep frame i "borrowed" from my split here had that hives queen on it. Not sure at this point, but i will go into that "split" hive and look for queen cells tomorrow. If, in my haste to get that frame in I did miss her and this is her (1st video) then they should have made queen cells by now. 

So...lessons learned...many! Keep slowing down when looking for queens, but i'm still not sure that was her. Keep trying new things! I got a second queen out of the deal. She surely would have been killed by that "piping" queen if i left those cells in there. ALWAYS take extra equipment...ya never know when you'll need something. So now i have a thriving nuc ready to go...or the next time i have a queen just fly away! 

Cheers,
Marty Hanks
Just Bee Apiary
 
 Home of the Orange County Honey Project.
"Created by Artisans....Bottled by Humans"

Attachment: Flying Queen.MOV
Description: QuickTime movie

Attachment: New nuc Queen.MOV
Description: QuickTime movie



  • [ocba] Lesson learned....i think!, Marty Hanks, 04/05/2013

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