MillerThousand AnswersBeekeepingQuestions.pdf - BioBees

THOUSAND ANSWERS 157giving a pound or two of bees purchased from some other beekeeper,what precautions would you use in uniting the purchasedbees to the nuclei?Fig.32.—Examining a baby nucleus.A. Might do one of several ways. One way is to sprinkle allthoroughly with sweetened water. Or, shake them up in a dishpantill they don't know "where they are at." Or, put the addedbees in an upper story for, a few days, separated from the lowerstory by a wire-cloth. During a honey crop they may be givenright at the entrance of the colony to be helped.Q. Is it best to set nuclei quite a distance from strong colonies?A. I don't believe it makes much difference.Q. When forming a single or twin nucleus, which is the betterto use, a ripe queen-cell or a virgin queen?A. There is little to choose. If a cell is given, the youngqueen is more sure of kind treatment than when a virgin is introduced.On the other hand it sometimes happens that the virginin the cell has imperfect wings, and she may even be dead, and