Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: Nuc & Queen  (Read 2036 times)

Offline Steel Tiger

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 563
  • Gender: Male
Nuc & Queen
« on: April 27, 2013, 12:36:09 pm »
 Just got a call from my supplier and thay need me to pick up my nuc on the 1st which is 9 days early. I'm also getting a package of bees on the 5th from a local supplier. Since I was planning on getting the package first, I was going to buy a queen when I picked up the nuc and requeen the package.
 The nuc is 5 frames. If I stole a frame from it, along with whatever bees are on it besides the queen, and made a 3 frame temporary nuc, would that leave enough resources and bees to survive until I get the package four days later, which I can then move the extra queen into the hive I put the packed bees into and put the queen from the packaged bees into the 3 frame nuc. Or should I kiss the money goodbye and forget the extra queen?
 And what's a good way to keep the queen warm during the 3 hour drive home after I pick her and the nuc up?

Offline Intheswamp

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 1501
    • BeeWeather.com
Re: Nuc & Queen
« Reply #1 on: April 27, 2013, 12:53:37 pm »
ST, why don't you contact the local supplier and see if you can get the package a few days early and proceed with your original plans, albeit a few days sooner than expected?

I would imagine that if ambient temperature is ok with you it'd be ok with the queen, but some people carry them in a shirt pocket and share some of their body heat with them.

Best wishes on your upcoming bee adventures! :)
Ed
www.beeweather.com 
American blood spilled to protect the freedom and peace of people all over the world.  320,000 USA casualties in WWI, 1,076,000 USA casualties in WWII, 128,000 USA casualties in the Korean War, 211,000 casualties in the Vietnam "conflict", 57,000 USA casualties in "War on Terror".  Benghazi, Libya, 13 USA casualties. These figures don't include 70,000 MIA.  But, the leaders of one political party of the United States of America continue to make the statement..."What difference does it make?".

"We can't expect the American People to jump from Capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of Socialism, until they awaken one day to find that they have Communism."..."The press is our chief ideological weapon." - Nikita Khrushchev

"Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they wont come to yours." - Yogi Berra

Offline Steel Tiger

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 563
  • Gender: Male
Re: Nuc & Queen
« Reply #2 on: April 27, 2013, 01:13:30 pm »
ST, why don't you contact the local supplier and see if you can get the package a few days early and proceed with your original plans, albeit a few days sooner than expected?

I would imagine that if ambient temperature is ok with you it'd be ok with the queen, but some people carry them in a shirt pocket and share some of their body heat with them.

Best wishes on your upcoming bee adventures! :)
Ed
He's not getting the bees until the morning of the 5th. I would be getting them tomorrow, but his supplier pushed it off a week because of the cold weather.
I'll be picking the nuc and queen up at night. Around here the temps are suppose to be in the 40s. More than likely it'll be quite a bit colder in Vermont where I'm getting them.
 Would a queen survive 4 days in a cage if I put a drop of sugar water on the screen once or twice a day? Then survive another couple days being acclimated to the packaged bees?

Offline Finski

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 3928
  • Gender: Male
Re: Nuc & Queen
« Reply #3 on: April 27, 2013, 01:48:26 pm »
.
You make a big mistake if you split 5 frame nuc.  5 frame is minimum if you are going to see what means a beehive.

It takes 2 months that 5 frame nuc is able to forage surplus honey..

3 frame nuc is not able to forage surplus during whole summer.

And what you really need as a beginner is new combs. Those tiny dwarfs cannot draw enough  new combs.

.
When you have 4 box hive in summer, you may split the whole box for a nuc and you get a wintering colony.

.

.
.
Language barrier NOT included

Offline Steel Tiger

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 563
  • Gender: Male
Re: Nuc & Queen
« Reply #4 on: April 27, 2013, 02:00:50 pm »
.
You make a big mistake if you split 5 frame nuc.  5 frame is minimum if you are going to see what means a beehive.

It takes 2 months that 5 frame nuc is able to forage surplus honey..

3 frame nuc is not able to forage surplus during whole summer.

And what you really need as a beginner is new combs. Those tiny dwarfs cannot draw enough  new combs.

.
When you have 4 box hive in summer, you may split the whole box for a nuc and you get a wintering colony.

.

.
The 3 frame will be temporary. Maybe 2 to 3 weeks. After that the hive made from the orginal nuc will get all three frames from the 3 frame nuc. The italian queen that's coming with the package will just go on craigslist as a free queen bee. I only want to keep the italian queen long enough to be sure the northern raised hybrid is laying.

Offline Intheswamp

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 1501
    • BeeWeather.com
Re: Nuc & Queen
« Reply #5 on: April 27, 2013, 02:29:41 pm »
He's not getting the bees until the morning of the 5th. I would be getting them tomorrow, but his supplier pushed it off a week because of the cold weather.
I'll be picking the nuc and queen up at night. Around here the temps are suppose to be in the 40s. More than likely it'll be quite a bit colder in Vermont where I'm getting them.
 Would a queen survive 4 days in a cage if I put a drop of sugar water on the screen once or twice a day? Then survive another couple days being acclimated to the packaged bees?
I understand the delivery issues.  Remember that queens are shipping through the USPS and sometimes it takes a few days to arrive at their destination.  Be sure that they put some candy in the queen cage and a couple of nurse bees.  I would think using a drop or two of honey on the screen of the queen cage might be better than sugar syrup...more nutrients...but, the syrup may be better in that it might more approximate nectar.

I wonder if you cut make two push-in cages out of #8 hardware cloth and use them to confine both queens in the same nuc?  It seems the workers in the nuc might be aggressive toward the strange queen but she should be safe in the cage...it might be a tricky thing to do.  I'd get somebody else's (somebody with more experience than what I have!) opinion on that before trying it.

Be aware that even though you do all you can that a queen can still die on you.  My mentor and I hived a swarm the other day that ended up having two queens in it.  He held one of the queens out with the intention of putting her in a nuc the next day....when he went to use her she was dead.  :(  Go figure...

Best wishes,
Ed
www.beeweather.com 
American blood spilled to protect the freedom and peace of people all over the world.  320,000 USA casualties in WWI, 1,076,000 USA casualties in WWII, 128,000 USA casualties in the Korean War, 211,000 casualties in the Vietnam "conflict", 57,000 USA casualties in "War on Terror".  Benghazi, Libya, 13 USA casualties. These figures don't include 70,000 MIA.  But, the leaders of one political party of the United States of America continue to make the statement..."What difference does it make?".

"We can't expect the American People to jump from Capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of Socialism, until they awaken one day to find that they have Communism."..."The press is our chief ideological weapon." - Nikita Khrushchev

"Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they wont come to yours." - Yogi Berra

Offline Finski

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 3928
  • Gender: Male
Re: Nuc & Queen
« Reply #6 on: April 27, 2013, 03:25:24 pm »
[. I only want to keep the italian queen long enough to be sure the northern raised hybrid is laying.

ok, that is good.

.
.
Language barrier NOT included

Offline hankdog1

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 849
  • Gender: Male
Re: Nuc & Queen
« Reply #7 on: April 27, 2013, 10:29:40 pm »
Hind sight being 20/20 why didn't you order all the bees off the guy that is selling you the nuc if his queens are the ones your after?
Take me to the land of milk and honey!!!

Offline Steel Tiger

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 563
  • Gender: Male
Re: Nuc & Queen
« Reply #8 on: April 28, 2013, 12:12:08 am »
Hind sight being 20/20 why didn't you order all the bees off the guy that is selling you the nuc if his queens are the ones your after?

It's a long story and a weird chain of events that caused me to order from both places.
 I just recieved an email from the supplier for the packaged bees saying that the shipment from Rossman's Apiaries has been delayed another week due to weather. I'll call him in the morning to cancel my order and call Singing Cedar Apiaries and ask for a 2nd nuc. Plans seem to be changing every time I turn around.

Offline 10framer

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 1701
Re: Nuc & Queen
« Reply #9 on: April 28, 2013, 12:31:15 am »
Hind sight being 20/20 why didn't you order all the bees off the guy that is selling you the nuc if his queens are the ones your after?

It's a long story and a weird chain of events that caused me to order from both places.
 I just recieved an email from the supplier for the packaged bees saying that the shipment from Rossman's Apiaries has been delayed another week due to weather. I'll call him in the morning to cancel my order and call Singing Cedar Apiaries and ask for a 2nd nuc. Plans seem to be changing every time I turn around.

it's been a strange spring in georgia.  every time things started to take off the weather changed drastically.  it got down close to freezing one night last week but we've had days in the upper 80's several times.  plans have been changing for all of us this year.

Offline Intheswamp

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 1501
    • BeeWeather.com
Re: Nuc & Queen
« Reply #10 on: April 28, 2013, 03:30:22 am »
ST, I think you'll do good going with two of the nucs...they will be timed very good with your flow.

10framer...  Just looking at the forecast and we've basically got rain predicted every day next week here in south central Alabama so central and north Georgia should get some of the same.  Temperatures are dropping down into the low 70's for highs by next Friday..lows dropping to the upper 40's  Friday night.  Not the greatest queen mating weather I would think...plus too much rain isn't good for pollen/nectar foraging.  It's been a real roller-coaster ride this spring, so far!

Ed
www.beeweather.com 
American blood spilled to protect the freedom and peace of people all over the world.  320,000 USA casualties in WWI, 1,076,000 USA casualties in WWII, 128,000 USA casualties in the Korean War, 211,000 casualties in the Vietnam "conflict", 57,000 USA casualties in "War on Terror".  Benghazi, Libya, 13 USA casualties. These figures don't include 70,000 MIA.  But, the leaders of one political party of the United States of America continue to make the statement..."What difference does it make?".

"We can't expect the American People to jump from Capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of Socialism, until they awaken one day to find that they have Communism."..."The press is our chief ideological weapon." - Nikita Khrushchev

"Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they wont come to yours." - Yogi Berra

Offline Georgia Boy

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 500
  • Gender: Male
Re: Nuc & Queen
« Reply #11 on: April 28, 2013, 10:39:46 am »
Georgia weather is just crazy this year.

Here in north Georgia my wife just told me they said we might be getting a freeze next Friday. Hell thats May 3rd. JUST CRAZE. 

Poor bees don't know weather to wipe their watch or to wind their butt.  :evil:

David

"Give it All You've Got"
"Never give up. Never surrender."

 

anything