Better Queens by Jay Smith.pdf

Better Queens by Jay Smith
A Colony for Both Starting and Finishing
One season we used queenless colonies for both starting and finishing cells.
Cells were given every four days. Before giving more cells, more bees to the
amount of three or four pounds were shaken in from other colonies. These
colonies did not accept the cells as readily as we wished but finished very well
what they accepted. The bees never fanned and showed they were delighted
to receive the new cells. The presence of other cells may have been a
contributing cause. To sum it up, the results were not the best and the labor
was excessive.
Three-Compartment Hive for both Starting and
Finishing
Another plan suggested itself. A three-compartment hive was made in which
cells were both started and finished. The two outside compartments
contained laying queens. These were separated from the central compartment
by queen excluders. The bees from both sides flew from the central
compartment. When giving cells, the openings between the compartments
were closed and bees from both sides were shaken into the central
compartment. Flight holes were then opened in the two outside
compartments. Bees flying from these openings would join the bees in the
central compartment. The plan promised much but proved to be about the
flattest failure of anything I ever tried. They accepted very few cells and those
they did accept were not finished well. So the hive was junked. I did not burn
it in the furnace as I did the wooden cups-here in Florida we have a fireplace.
I then realized what a stupid idea it was after all. Why have the two hives
connected? Why not shake as many bees as you needed into the starter hive?
Starting and Finishing in the Same Hive Not Practical
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesbetterqueenswpics.htm (78 of 119)20-12-2006 21:42:55