Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => REQUEENING & RAISING NEW QUEENS => Topic started by: Shawn on March 11, 2008, 02:48:15 pm
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Orderd a Goldline queen today from Purvis Brothers Apiaries. Ive heard nothing but good about the Goldline queen. I asked what the temperate and they said good, usually hat and vail, sometimes nothing. I was told they breed for surviabliity not to be nice.
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Sorry for the extra post, but here is a link for the info on Goldline Queens in case anyone was wondering about what or who are the goldline: http://web.mac.com/dannpurvis/iWeb/Purvis%20Brothers%20Bees.com/Product-Prices.html.
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I'm going to have to hang onto that page for the future. I never heard of them. Let us know how they work for you. Thanks for sharing.
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Your welcome. I believe it was "Dallas" on vent that gave me the link to them.
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I set up 3 nucs w/ them and a few members really like their queens. I wintered in one deep w/ medium of honey on top. So far all three are alive and well. Docile so far. Cant asses their forgaing skill yet. They do exhibit "uber-hygenic" behaviour as compared to my Minn Hygenics set-ups. They start to clean up evejn before my inspection is over. Carry the dead dozens of feet away instead of just pushing off landing board. My only problem is late shipping dates. Our club made an order one week after they posted their prices and got a date of July. They are easy to deal w/ and our club is experimenting w/ them and hoping they are as good as advertised. So far, our club is satisfied and is expecting this years order.Ideally mid-june would be better at latest for our area. Nucs need to much TLC otherwise.
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My ship date is around June 16.
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I have had PBA Queens for 4 years and have raised some from them, they are very good queens, good foragers, big hives, very good temperament, I work mine without smoke and some days they can be irritable without smoke but they are good bee's.
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TWT, are you the one that gave me the link? What is your name in Vent?
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TWT, are you the one that gave me the link? What is your name in Vent?
its the same "TwT" , I have talked about them a few time on ventrilo but I don't remember to who!!
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Are the bees good honey producers?
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They say they are and will find out this fall. Go to the link I posted above and it tells everything you want to know about them.
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Got my queen today and put her and the cage inside the hive. Ill keep everyone updated on the differences in the hive.
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Interesting that on their page, they have a pic of a worker in a flower labeled "a hard working, strong surviving, Purvis queen". Heh.
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they are some good bee's, build up fast and large, good honey producers.
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I introduced 2 queens from them to 2 of my hives yesterday. I'll post any interesting developments/characteristics.
On the subject of introduction, I used the push in cage method. From all I've read, should wait 4-5 days and check on her for acceptance. Well when I went in yesterday to release her, the brood did not emerge in the caged area and lots of SHB larvae (it was like this in both hives). She was okay though...poor thing being caged with those nasty things, I felt bad for her. Both walked freely into the hive with a "court" surrounding/grooming her.
I just scraped/detroyed the comb with the SHB larvae in it and put it back in the hive as the rest of the frame had healthy capped brood in it. Anyone else have problems with the push-in cage method?
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some love the push in cage method, I have never used it, never needed to, I just use the wood or plastic queen cages, leave corks or caps in were they cant release her and leave in hive 4-5 days, after that I remove corks or caps and let them release her. I don't care to release her myself any more because them hags can fly in a second and then you have a chance on losing her but surprisingly she will enter the hive most of the time even when she flies.
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derrick1p1, have you checked on your queens or nocited any difference between other queens and the goldline? I fdont know about the one I bought because the other beek here needed a queen pretty bad so I gave the goldline to him since he helps me out so much.
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I lost one of the goldlines (my fault, she flew away). Another I have had to reintroduce. She was laying, but hive was very weak at the time and she minimized her laying because of available nurse bees to keep brood warm.
Other queen was laying great. Lots of solid, capped brood throughout chamber, but they have already superceded her. Not sure why. Once the brood emerges, I'll get a better idea of what the offspring are like.
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Wow, I wonder why they did not like the one. I'm going to go over to the other guys house and check mine out. Hope she is doing good.
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I have a hive that has repeatedly superceded queens they've either reared themselves (or the one I introduced), after they have mated and started laying good patterns. I'm alway very careful when I inspect the brood chamber b/c I don't want to harm the queen. To my knowledge, I've not killed any queens accidentally in the past, and can't imagine I would have done this 3 times to this hive. This hive is currently rearing, again, thier own queen. I am not going to intervene and try to introduce another queen (didn't work last time as you can see). There are plenty of workers, brood and stores in this hive. Hopefully, this perplexing hive will rear a queen and accept her as begin gearing up for fall and winter.
Best of luck on the inspection of your queen!
Derrick
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Well I called my friend today and he says the goldline queen is doing great. He said she is passing up other queens that have been there since the start of the season. He is thinking about replacing all his queens next year with goldline, about 28 of them. The only problem we are having is there is no flow. TOO DRY, nothing blooming, and its starting to get scary. Hope they appreciate being fed all year.
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Wednesday I am going to go help the guy I gave the queen to and see how she is doing. He said she started laying eggs after three days in the hive and has overpassed all his other hives. he has put on the second hive body and she is already laying in the second deep. Ill try to take some pictures of the frames and hopefully her.
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Well I had to work late and did not get up to go get the pictures as promised. Now that I know my original queen is no longer around I ordered a goldline queen and it will be here next Wednesday. I only have two more months before it starts getting cold here so hopefully she will get enough done for the winter.
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Just got my queen about 45 minutes ago and put her into the hive. She came in a plastic odd shaped container with a bar at the end, maybe for mutiple queen shipping. She is accompained with 5 other bees. Anyway I dont know if I put her in the right way but I took out one frame, not used, slid the frames apart where the majority of the bees were. put the cage in so bees could be on the top and bottom of her and slid the frames back together to hold her there. Man its just like having a newborn. I was trying to be very careful and wanted the frames tight so nothing happens to her. I watched for a minute or tow and the bees started getting on the top and bottom of her. None acted mean towads her but some were just sitting on there looking like, "hey who is this, why is this odd thing in our home, is she the new boss." Ill snap some pictures tomorrow when I let her go.
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Hello,
Don't let her go tomorrow - you will loose her 100%. Leave her in the cage for at least 72 hours and see how the recipient colony reacts to her. SHE HAS TO ACCEPTED WHILST STILL IN THE CAGE, No bees balling the cage before final release and then don't open for 10 days.
Good luck!
Norton.
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10 days? Thats like putting a present in front of a kid and say you cant open that for 10 days.
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Hello,
That is the time that I recommend. Sometimes the queen is released from the cage but doesn't start to lay immediately - if you open the hive and she hasn't started laying then she will try to run and hide and then she will be balled by the bees and probably killed.
Don't try to take short cuts when introducing - curiosity does not only kill cats!
Best regards
Norton.
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Ok so it has been raining for the past two days so i had to wait to let my new queen out. When I opened the hive I saw a lot of bees at the top cover and more bees flying out and about. When I took the inner cover off I saw there were a few bees on the queen cage. They looked like they were sticking their tongues through the little holes. The more I tried to brush them away the madder they got. I finally figured out how to open the cage and a bee flew out, hope it was not the queen. Anyway I put the cage lower and watched bees come out. Just as fast as they came out bees were going in. The cage was pakced with bees by the time I could figure out there were no queen in there. I did not get any pictures because the smoker would not stay lit and they were not liking me around the hive today. Ill give them three to four days and Ill check back in. hopefully the queen got in there. She was not marked or clipped, should have had her clipped. :-\
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Forgot to say that when I went out today I noticed quite a few dead bees and maybe larvae in front of the entrance and on the landing. Is that normal when a new queen is being introduced? Havent seen any deads for awhile.
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Well I posted a thing in the pictures area of my new queen. She appears to be doing great, the comb is starting look even, less drone cells, and there are a lot more bees coming and going from the hive, and more bees coming in with pollen. To view the picture of my little beauty go to the pictures section under "Fist pictures of my bees on frame." Just gotta say I am very impressed with the Goldline.
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10 days? Thats like putting a present in front of a kid and say you cant open that for 10 days.
Pretend it's Christmas!
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So,after a year now,how is everyones goldline doing.Are they mite resistant ,are they good honey producers,do they swarm alot,do they build up fast in the spring ? What did i miss ?
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Good question. I gave mine away so Ill have to ask the guy how she is doing. Glad you said something because I forgot. Let you know in a couple of days
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what is this goldline queens doen know ? are thay good honey makers what is the up dates know?
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The Goldline bee does seem interesting from the reading. I'm beginning with Russians next year, but the Goldline might be interesting for us in another year or two, maybe in a different location. I would love to experiment...maybe even cross with the Russians. Please keep us all posted on the specifics. Thanks.
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Well I just receicved an email from Purvis Brothers saying it was for sale :?. Go to their website for details. Dont know about availability so you'll have to check out the website.
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I got a response back from them just the other day and by the nature of the response it looks like they will continue to sell them. Did not see or ask about any 2010 price list yet.
Here was my question and their response on 10/8/09.
When multiple queens are shipped will they all be separate with shipping charged individually or in one larger container and charged accordingly. Thanks. Tim.
Shipping is with UPS, charged by the container.
1-5Q, then 6-25Q, 26-100Q then 100+ in largest box. We do not make money on shipping, we charge what UPS charges us. We may regroup next year and use the USPS but this year a trial period did not produce good results. No wonder the post office is in a mess financially...:o(. We just want to get the Q’s there alive as cheaply as possible.
Thanks,
Rose
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I got Queens from Purvis a couple times this year. Very happy. One time got just one. Had them all in the hives by 10 AM. Over night is the only to go. Tony
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Got 4 Goldline queens this year. They don't say it on their website, but Walter T. Kelley sells Goldline queens if you ask for them, and they ship USPS so you save a bundle on shipping. I was really happy with all 4 of the queens this year! Next time I'm in need I will surely be ordering from them, though I hope to be efficient in raising enough for my needs in the future.
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Does anyone know why Purvis Brothers Bees are for sale?
I have never had Goldline queens before, or dealth with Purvis Brothers, but something seems odd to me. Why are they selling their operation, but interested in moving away to continue a smaller, identical operation? Something just seems fishy.
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they moved to Tennessee and had all their land, home and buildings here in the Ga mountains, they will still have and sale their queens but they added the bee's to it to make it more alluring, thats my thinking anyway....
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Wonder how much land and what they are asking. Just curious
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http://web.me.com/dannpurvis/Purvis_Brothers_Bee_Business_For_Sale/Photos.html (http://web.me.com/dannpurvis/Purvis_Brothers_Bee_Business_For_Sale/Photos.html)
you will have to call for price!
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they moved to Tennessee and had all their land, home and buildings here in the Ga mountains, they will still have and sale their queens but they added the bee's to it to make it more alluring, thats my thinking anyway....
Their website makes it sound like they are completely moving on and only going to be doing enough to keep themselves supplied.
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This is what I was told,
They are selling the Georgia apiary but will continue to keep bees on a smaller scale in TN.
its a pretty place and would be a nice investment if someone wanted to take it over, they have some good bee's.
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This is what I was told,
They are selling the Georgia apiary but will continue to keep bees on a smaller scale in TN.
its a pretty place and would be a nice investment if someone wanted to take it over, they have some good bee's.
You don't pay premium for a bee line (or anything else) when you potentially will be dealing with the owner producing from another spot.
If Jim's plumbing decided to move to a bigger place down the street, they sell the empty place business as that....an empty building. Yes, Jim may not want to take all the "stuff" with him to a new location. So he either sells it, or includes it into the purchase price. But is he selling a "plumbing" business? Certainly, Jim's clientele, his expertise and reputation, and all that Jim has built....is NOT staying behind. All that is moving down the street....and customers will know this. So for Jim to suggest he is selling a "business" is a little off in my way of thinking.
Now if Jim was retiring, handing over his business on an agreement of a slow transition, with guidance, support, client lists, and standing behind the name and business as the new owners get established....now that is a premium you pay for. But you pay nothing for a "business" when Jim is opening a new place down the road and using his same business name, no matter what "size" he says he is going to be.
The old business is only as good as the new owners. And if that business would be a bee business instead of a plumbing operation, the story stays the same. That bee line is only as good as the new owners ability. And however good the bees were in the past, that can not be guaranteed in the future. Purvis' expertise and ability was their value. And unless they are working for the new owners, you don't pay a premium.
And if I needed plumbing work done, and was happy with Jim in the past, I would call Jim at his new place of operation. Why call the old place with a new owner, just because Jim left some old tools behind or failed to take down the old sign....
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here's a ad from one of the bee magazines
Our business is nestled in the North Georgia Mountains in Union County. The closest towns are Blairsville, Young Harris and Hiawassee, Georgia. Our operation produces the best queens available. The entire business is for sale. This includes the house, bee lab, wood shop, vehicles, trailers, storage, out yards and all the extras that go into producing good quality queens.
We believe we have contributed as much as we can to the bee industry and have decided to move on. We have been called to our new home in middle Tennessee near Lawrenceburg. We will still be keeping Goldline bees but on a much smaller scale and conducting practical beekeeping research and breeding on the side.
The Goldline bee is also offered as part of the business and we would be happy to work out a mutually beneficial arrangement to breed and maintain this line as well as other Lines or Races of Honeybees using our experience as Survival Breeders, Artificial Inseminators, and Closed Population Breeding Group Specialists. We would love to pass on what we have learned to the new owner(s).
To all of our loyal and supportive friends and clients, thank you for the great run and we love and greatly appreciate you all. Thank you for many great hours of beekeeping stories, ideas, support, and keeping us in the “Survivor” category for so long.
We are extremely busy and request only serious inquiries.
It seems they will sale all including the name, but I do believe they will still sale a few on the side but nothing like before. they will have to call them another name now I bet. I like the part where they will work with the new owner and share all their knowledge of the operation.
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TwT, that is the same info I got from them in email.
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The entire business is for sale...
We believe we have contributed as much as we can to the bee industry and have decided to move on...
We will still be keeping Goldline bees but on a much smaller scale and ... breeding on the side.
The first two statements seems counter intuitive to the last one. They have decided to move on, but they arn't moving on. They have decided not to sell queens anymore, but they are still selling queens (only less of them).
If I was a buyer, I wouldn't be interested. I wouldn't like the idea of purchasing a business while the old owner is down the road 'competing' with me, even if they are giving me pointers.
If I was looking for queen bees, I wouldn't be looking here any longer. Purvis is scaling down their operation so there is no way to tell if they can fill your orders, and there is no way to tell what the new queens will be like (either exactly as Purvis had kept them, or otherwise) from the person who bought the business. Providing quality queens isn't like owning a gas station. If someone was good at it from the start, my guess is they wouldn't need to purchase an operation in GA to get better at it. Just my thoughts though.
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Does this company still sell queens?
Why is it for sale ? Anyone know for how much?
Brooklyn
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By chance did anyone buy a goldline queen this year? If so how are they doing.
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I was wondering if they were still selling bees on the big time scale.
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They are not selling bees this year.
But I am looking for someone who has a Queen for sale Goldline
Brooklyn
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Ok I called Purvis Brothers today and found they are not selling for 2010, unknown about 2011. :'(