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Author Topic: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)  (Read 3815 times)

Offline Frantz

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Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« on: July 05, 2008, 06:34:03 pm »
I have a queen, I see her, I see her. It is really cool just so you know. The best part is that I was near the OB hive and heard what I thought was a muffled duck quack. 3-4 times in a row. I thought to myself, " I wonder it that is the bees" Put my ear on the hive and yep, it was coming from the bees. "oh wow, I wonder if that is a queen piping" Yep, it is. I can see her plain as day, and I can watch her stop, and pip everyonce in a while. It is very cool.... They don't seem to be attending to her at all though, she is just marching around like she owns place, but none of the girls even seem to acknowledge her existence?? Is that cause she is new?? She is not laying yet, so they don't care yet? So exciting....

Ok, the OB hive I have has the two frames of about 3/4 brood and 1/4 honey. Well its getting mighty tight in there. I was thinking about taking one of the frames out and starting a nuc with it. Each one of the frames has 3-4 of the queen cells on it, so I thought it might be a good thing. Replacing the frame with an empty drawn frame.

So with the new queen showing up earlier than I thought, should I just leave them alone. I wanted to let her get mated and then move her out. I don't want her to destroy the other queen cells. So how long till she does that, and will she do that before her mating flight. I have the queen cages and all ready to go. So any advice will be appriciated.... I am most concerned about her killing the other queens before I get her out of there, and I want to split this OB hive and get a nuc started. Especially since its getting crowded in there.
I love that I got to see the queen today, and found her by hearing her pip.... That is just cool... Sorry, have I said that already :-D
F
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Offline toolmaster

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Re: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« Reply #1 on: July 05, 2008, 06:41:52 pm »
Let's see some pictures!

Offline Kathyp

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Re: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« Reply #2 on: July 05, 2008, 07:38:40 pm »
very cool.  i just put mine up today.  hope to share in the excitement!

i plan on using mine for spare queen/nuc also.  let me know what you do and how it works. 

i'll post some pics later.  need better light or the flash causes a glare.
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Offline Frantz

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Re: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« Reply #3 on: July 05, 2008, 08:02:23 pm »
Kathy,
you can see my pics in the pics section. I posted some a bit ago... Do I have to get her out of there soon before she kills the other queen cells? Or do I have some time?
Look forward to seeing your pics, and sharing some ideas on queen rearing I could use the knowledge
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Offline Robo

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Re: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« Reply #4 on: July 05, 2008, 09:22:24 pm »
So with the new queen showing up earlier than I thought, should I just leave them alone. I wanted to let her get mated and then move her out. I don't want her to destroy the other queen cells. So how long till she does that, and will she do that before her mating flight.
Any minute now. As soon as she hatches, she will start to wonder around the hive and if she comes upon a queen cell, she will tear thru the side and kill the other queen.  She will stay in the hive for around a week and then venture out for her mating flights.
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I am most concerned about her killing the other queens before I get her out of there

I would be too
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Offline JP

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Re: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« Reply #5 on: July 06, 2008, 12:10:23 am »
The other cells you are seeing are queen cells or swarm cells?

You could keep a close eye on the situation but if you act too soon and remove her and she's killed other ripe queen cells they will need even more time to make a new queen and then have her get mated.

I think I would remove a honey frame and add the empty drawn frame then let her reign begin and wait on starting the nuc when things get reestablished.


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Offline Frantz

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Re: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« Reply #6 on: July 06, 2008, 12:25:35 am »
ok, she is wondering around a lot, but she is not tearing into the other cells that have been built. Here is a newbee question, "What is the difference between a queen cell and a swarm cell?". Since I put the two frames in, they started building what I thought were queen cells. Elongated cells, look similar to a small peanut shell. I am also wondering where this queen came from. I brought a queen cell along with the two frames but she does not apear to have been from that one. They have built another 5 cells now, but I have only had them what two weeks or so in the OB hive. So I am lost as to where she came from. I know that today is the first day that I noticed her. I have spent a lot of time looking in the last two weeks. Probably around 1.5 hours per day. So I am confident that she is just new today. My plan is to take her out with a good couple of frames and get her into a new hive with some sugarwater? What do you think. Put a new couple of frames into the OB hive and start again.
We are high elevation here, so most of our flow and such is still oncoming. I figure mark her and give it a shot, especially since they seem so crowded in there now.
I am open to suggestions though. I love this learning thing. Keeps you on your toes for sure.

Also, the site has been down for a couple of hours, any reason? I could get all my other sites but this one. Drove me crazy for about two hours. Just enough time to cook our tin foil dinners and whew!! It was back up....
Thanks guys.
F
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Offline JP

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Re: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« Reply #7 on: July 06, 2008, 12:32:33 am »
Frantz, if you used foundation, swarm cells will be on the bottom of the frames.


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Offline Frantz

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Re: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« Reply #8 on: July 06, 2008, 12:47:43 am »
So cells that are in the middle of the frames will be queen cells? None of these are on the bottom. They are all in the middle or so. Also, If I mark her, put her in the nuc with a couple of frames and then shake some bees in, I don't have to cage her right? As she is in there with them already. I have queen cages so I was just wondering. Doesn't seem like I would have too. Might help the bees stay with her in the nuc for a couple of days though?? I am worried about the bees just going back to the entrance to the OB hive. Legitimate worry?
F
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Offline JP

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Re: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« Reply #9 on: July 06, 2008, 12:56:55 am »
So cells that are in the middle of the frames will be queen cells? None of these are on the bottom. They are all in the middle or so. Also, If I mark her, put her in the nuc with a couple of frames and then shake some bees in, I don't have to cage her right? As she is in there with them already. I have queen cages so I was just wondering. Doesn't seem like I would have too. Might help the bees stay with her in the nuc for a couple of days though?? I am worried about the bees just going back to the entrance to the OB hive. Legitimate worry?
F

If you used foundation and not starter strips the queen cells at the bottom would be swarm cells, with starter strips they can be anywhere.

In your scenario I would cage her and add an entrance reducer for two days, or an excluder to let them set up but if she's a virgin like you say don't leave her caged more than that so she can take her maiden voyage.


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Offline Frantz

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Re: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« Reply #10 on: July 06, 2008, 01:23:27 am »
Ok, that is what I will do... cage her, and I have an entrance reducer as well. Just a couple of days in the cage and I will go with it. I have the candy corks, that will only take a couple of days for them to eat through anyway. Thanks for staying up and answering my questions JP. Its only 10 pm here. Guessing its a little later there.
Thanks again.
F
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Offline SgtMaj

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Re: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« Reply #11 on: July 06, 2008, 05:37:45 am »
Very cool.

Offline Robo

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Re: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« Reply #12 on: July 06, 2008, 08:19:48 am »
I brought a queen cell along with the two frames but she does not apear to have been from that one. They have built another 5 cells now, but I have only had them what two weeks or so in the OB hive. So I am lost as to where she came from.

There is some confusion here.  Was the queen cell capped?  It only takes 6 days for the queen to hatch once the cell is capped.  They can build a cell with larvae and it will hatch in 13 days.  Both of these are within you 2 weeks limit.

I'm not sure what is really going on here.  Are you sure these are queen cells and not just queen cups?  Some pictures might help.



Quote
I know that today is the first day that I noticed her. I have spent a lot of time looking in the last two weeks. Probably around 1.5 hours per day. So I am confident that she is just new today. My plan is to take her out with a good couple of frames and get her into a new hive with some sugarwater? What do you think. Put a new couple of frames into the OB hive and start again.
We are high elevation here, so most of our flow and such is still oncoming. I figure mark her and give it a shot, especially since they seem so crowded in there now.
I am open to suggestions though. I love this learning thing. Keeps you on your toes for sure.
If you looking to save the other cells,  I would move one of the frames will cells to a nuc and leave the queen and half the bees in the ob hive and give another empty frame.   The less you move her around and change environment, the better the chances she will make it.

Quote
Also, the site has been down for a couple of hours, any reason? I could get all my other sites but this one. Drove me crazy for about two hours. Just enough time to cook our tin foil dinners and whew!! It was back up....
Thanks guys.
F

The server was moved.  I guess there was some confusion on the techs part and it happened a day earlier than it was suppose to. 
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison



Offline randydrivesabus

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Re: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« Reply #13 on: July 06, 2008, 08:21:42 am »
i took a queen rearing class a while back. the best queens come from big, crowded with bees hives that are made queenless. while you will get queens from nucs and OB hives from eggs you will not get higher quality queens. after the queen cell is capped/sealed then it is moved to a mating nuc.

Offline Ross

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Re: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« Reply #14 on: July 06, 2008, 10:59:55 am »
Virgins are routinely ignored by the hive.  They can feed themselves.  All that will change after she mates. 
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Offline Frantz

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Re: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« Reply #15 on: July 06, 2008, 11:09:26 am »
Ok, thanks everyone. Queen is marked and put back in. I will try and take some pics of the swarm cells. They are capped. Split a frame into a nuc and fingers are crossed. We will see. It went pretty well other than my first attempt at marking a queen. She is wearing a little more pink nail polish than I would have liked. But it was an experience. That is for sure. Tell you all more after church.
F
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Offline Robo

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Re: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« Reply #16 on: July 06, 2008, 11:14:57 am »
Just FYI, it is better to wait until she is mated before you mark her.   With that pink nail polish, she may be more noticeable to predictors during her mating flight.
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Offline JP

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Re: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« Reply #17 on: July 06, 2008, 12:18:35 pm »
Virgins are routinely ignored by the hive.  They can feed themselves.  All that will change after she mates. 

How true is that, and when you have a virgin in a swarm they don't pay her much attention either, even after you cage her it takes a while to get all the bees in a box.


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Offline Frantz

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Re: Ok, new queen in the OB hive!! (Help)
« Reply #18 on: July 06, 2008, 04:40:36 pm »
Ok,
all is calm now. So I should have waited for her mating flight to mark her. Good to know for next time. She has enough roughe on her now that her mating flight should be a big success.  :-D
Thanks again guys for everything. I greatly appriciate it.
Nothing like learning. eh!!
F
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