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Author Topic: FINDING DA QUEEN  (Read 3882 times)

Offline Jack Parr

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FINDING DA QUEEN
« on: April 12, 2006, 07:16:11 am »
Yesterday I found the QUEEN in a highly populated, two deep and two honey supers stack, bees galore.

USING FISCHERS   "  BEE  QUICK  " :!: Which is an excellent product for fuming bees out of honey supers BTW.      Are you there Jim Fischer :?:

 Last week and again day before yesterday, after about three hours of going through the two boxes boxes frame by frame, two and three times I gave up, frustrated to the point of almost installing a new queen convinced that there was no queen in that hive.

I returned yesterday equipped with an empty deep on a bottom board and installed it face to face towards the active hive, placed a queen excluder on it and then placed an empty deep box on the excluder. Taking each frame from the hive one by one, looking at it, both sides, then placed it into the empty until full. Ten frames. I then placed the " Bee Quick " fume board on top. After about 15 minutes most of the bees had slid down through the excluder leaving the drones and some workers/house bees, but most cleared out. After doing the two deeps I found the QUEEN :!: Caught her, and she is now sitting next to me in an empty plastic ice cream container with six other bees feeding herself on some comb honey.

The " Bee Quick " is temp sensitive, the hotter it is the quicker the bees react. Yesterday the temp was around 80/ 85 degrees F.

The usual method used with the two boxes and excluder to find a queen, is to shake the frames free of bees and smoke them down through the excluder. I find that method very harsh, kills a lot of bees, and a PITA generally, trying to do all of  that, wheras the Bee Quick is a harmless concotion, has a pleasent odor and it did the job without undue harm to the bees, or, to me. There was some bee mortality but not an undue amount considering the population.

I rearranged the hive as it was and the bees started marching back into their home. Today I am going to insert the new SMR Minnesota Hygenic Italian Queen in that hive.

I am adding a disclaimer here about the Bee Quick. This is NOT an advertisment for the product.  WTH, it worked for me, for both, clearing the honey super and an aid in findng a queen in a highly populated hive.

Offline Finsky

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FINDING DA QUEEN
« Reply #1 on: April 12, 2006, 02:29:13 pm »
I may say that I am good to find queens. I need not to mark queens. I do not use exluder.

When I open hive  and I want to find queen, I do not use smoke.

When I open brood area first I take frame from place where is most bees.  Next I track queen according eggs. It is near eggs.

When I start, I devive box into 2 part that queen cannot jump over gap. First one part and then another part.

If queen cannot be found easily I close the hive and search another time.

Even hive has 6 boxes queen is normally near egg fames. If you disturb hive too much queen escapes where ever. It is difficult to look 60 frames. 10 frames is enough.

Offline Michael Bush

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FINDING DA QUEEN
« Reply #2 on: April 12, 2006, 08:19:40 pm »
Here's some tips for next time:

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesqueenspotting.htm
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
-------------------
"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

Offline Finsky

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FINDING DA QUEEN
« Reply #3 on: April 13, 2006, 03:07:43 am »
Michael, it seems that we have same system :P

Offline ian michael davison

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FINDING DA QUEEN
« Reply #4 on: April 13, 2006, 03:39:29 am »
Hi all
 Finsky wrote:
"Michael, it seems that we have same system"

THAT WILL BE A FIRST THEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Regards Ian

Offline Finsky

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FINDING DA QUEEN
« Reply #5 on: April 13, 2006, 03:54:19 am »
Quote from: ian michael davison

THAT WILL BE A FIRST THEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Regards Ian


Good point Ian but you have 3 lols too much  :wink:   10 should be enough!

Offline Michael Bush

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FINDING DA QUEEN
« Reply #6 on: April 13, 2006, 07:32:15 am »
Actually Finsky and I agree on many things.  A couple come to mind right off.  Feeding in the spring.  Using the appropriate sized box, especially for a package or a small amount of bees.

Pretty much small cell, foundationless, and leaving honey on in the fall (as opposed to feeding) are the only three I can think of off hand where we don't.  Well, I guess I'd vaporize the OA (if I were using it now) and he'd trickle it...
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
-------------------
"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

Offline Jack Parr

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FINDING DA QUEEN
« Reply #7 on: April 13, 2006, 07:54:05 am »
Yes, I am aware of ALL the methods used to find QUEENS having read about, and practiced, all the tips described above. I have in fact found THE QUEEN, sometimes, but going through highly populated hives is difficult and takes practice. Starting beekeeping with older eyes may also be a handicap  :?:                                                                              

 I also found a second Queen yesterday using the same MO. This old mama was dark brown and there again I had difficulty finding her among the drones running around on the excluder.

The Queen Breeder, Emric Bordelon, Avoyelles Honey Company, Moreauville, Louisiana,, 71355  third generation, a real nice guy,  I bought my Queens from and personally picked up at his operation told me that sometimes they cannot find the Queen at first crack.  :o

There is the method of the excluder and smoke which struck me as a viable method but rather harsh. Soooo experts stand aside and at least give credit where credit is due.  My Fischers Bee Quick method should be an assist to the non experts who have to find queens.  The Bee Quick method WILL clear a honey super post haste versus installing one of those bee clearing devices that requires two trips to clear, and, retrive the supers.

Thank be due to JIM FISCHER  8)