A fat dummy board which is used to fill out the space in
the colony raising the queen cells
Members are asked to set up this cell-raising colony the
day before the demonstration of grafting so any problems
encountered may be resolved.
The next day, the larvae transport box is driven from apiary
to apiary and at each visit five young larvae, together with
the brown cell cups and cup caps, are attached to the cell
bar blocks in the individual beekeeper’s cell-raising colony.
These must be replaced in the transport box immediately
with empty cell cups and caps provided by the recipient to
keep it bee-tight. The beekeepers are instructed on the
preparation and stocking of mini-nucs and are advised to
introduce the sealed queen cells to them at 14 days of age,
that is nine days after delivery to their apiary.
CONCLUSION
Not all Dromore members are now rearing queens but the
introduction to the use of cell-raising colonies, cell cups
and to grafting has made the transition to doing it on their
own simple. One interesting result of the exercise is that
members have designed and made all manner of
mini-nucs, some not so mini. The investment of money
and time in this should ensure that they continue queen
rearing. Apidea boxes suit the writer who is not an expert
carpenter!
For the past three years Dromore Beekeeping Association
has held its demonstrations in the grounds of a new
primary school with a covered play area. This means the
event is not weather dependant. The same facilities and the
absence of flying bees means it can be combined with a
barbecue and non-beekeeping partners can come along.
Is this the best way to teach queen rearing? The jury is still
out. It certainly creates maximum awareness and adds to
the knowledge of those who participate. At a meeting of the
association last winter 90% of the discussion in a ‘brains
trust’ was, surprisingly, on queen rearing.
Every association has a proportion of members who come
along merely for entertainment but who rarely, if ever, look
below a queen excluder. We will not make queen rearers
out of them! z
Bee Craft digital December 2008 Page 11
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