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Author Topic: Can I transport frames of sealed brood???  (Read 4472 times)

Offline annette

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Can I transport frames of sealed brood???
« on: April 28, 2011, 12:05:34 am »
Just started a single hive in a women's garden up the block from me. She wanted only one and that's ok, but just caught a swarm last week for her hive and they seem to be rather small in numbers. Would like to give them a couple of frames of sealed brood from my other strong hives, but they are about 2 miles away from her garden and some bumpy roads to travel on.

Can I transport frames of sealed brood without killing the brood??

Thanks for your responses
Annette

Offline schawee

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Re: Can I transport frames of sealed brood???
« Reply #1 on: April 28, 2011, 12:22:49 am »
annette,i see no problem with moving them the 2 miles .i moved 20 frames 15 miles to the hives i have on the farm.everything was ok.i would put them in a nuc or in a deep to keep them like they were in their box,just add frames in it with them so they wouldn't fall of the frame rest.by the way ,your parrasol is in good shape  :-D     ...schawee
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Offline annette

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Re: Can I transport frames of sealed brood???
« Reply #2 on: April 28, 2011, 12:35:22 am »
OK Schawee that is a good idea about the nuc box and other frames in with them to keep them from moving around. I will do this.

Are you sure the parasol is in good condition?  I saw you and JP fighting over it and thought it was the end of it. I have to come out to Bud 4 just to retrieve it :-D

(only kidding, of course!!)

Thanks for the response to my post

Annette

Offline tillie

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Re: Can I transport frames of sealed brood???
« Reply #3 on: April 28, 2011, 12:39:18 am »
Sometimes when I am taking a frame of brood and eggs from my house to the Blue Heron (about 2 miles away), I simply wrap the frame in a kitchen towel and put it in the front seat of the car......have several queens that have been made from doing that over the years!

Linda T in Atlanta

Offline annette

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Re: Can I transport frames of sealed brood???
« Reply #4 on: April 28, 2011, 12:41:18 am »
Thanks Linda for your response as well. It just goes to show, they are hardier than we know. This makes me feel better about the whole thing.

Annette

Offline hardwood

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Re: Can I transport frames of sealed brood???
« Reply #5 on: April 28, 2011, 12:48:14 am »
I sometimes transport "grafting frames" (one's with eggs/day old larvae) about twenty miles to a mating yard. I wrap them in terry cloth towels that have been soaked under hot tap water and then wrung out to keep them from drying out.

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Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Can I transport frames of sealed brood???
« Reply #6 on: April 28, 2011, 01:38:43 am »
Sealed brood is pretty tough.  Marla Spivak says she has tried killing brood for testing for hygienic behavior with dry ice and it seldom succeeds, at least not consistently.  I've seen capped brood that was in pulled supers that was still emerging four days later.
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Offline FRAMEshift

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Re: Can I transport frames of sealed brood???
« Reply #7 on: April 28, 2011, 09:08:10 am »
Capped brood is developing rapidly and is more temperature sensitive than open brood.  A few degrees variance for more than a couple of hours can cause developmental disorders.  That doesn't mean the brood is killed but they may be damaged.  We generally leave the nurse bees on the frame when transporting so that the temperature will be properly regulated.   But if you are just going a few miles and you reinsert the frames immediately,  I don't think there would be a problem.
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Offline annette

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Re: Can I transport frames of sealed brood???
« Reply #8 on: April 28, 2011, 06:15:58 pm »
Thanks all for the help and good suggestions.

I like the hot, wet towel suggestion as well. I am going only up the road and not much time out of the hive, so I think things will go well.

Offline sterling

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Re: Can I transport frames of sealed brood???
« Reply #9 on: April 29, 2011, 01:39:13 pm »
Capped brood is developing rapidly and is more temperature sensitive than open brood.  A few degrees variance for more than a couple of hours can cause developmental disorders.  That doesn't mean the brood is killed but they may be damaged.  We generally leave the nurse bees on the frame when transporting so that the temperature will be properly regulated.   But if you are just going a few miles and you reinsert the frames immediately,  I don't think there would be a problem.
When you move frames with brood and bees on them is there any problem with the bees fighting. The reason I'm asking is I was going to take some frames of honey with the bees on them to feed and boost a nuc I started with a package. :?

Offline AliciaH

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Re: Can I transport frames of sealed brood???
« Reply #10 on: April 29, 2011, 01:44:54 pm »
Sterling:  If you lightly shake the frame (not too much or you will damage the brood), the only bees left on it should be the nurse bees.  I have generally found that nurse bees on a frame with brood are well accepted by another hive.

How long has your package been hived?  Why do you think you need to bolster numbers?

Offline sterling

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Re: Can I transport frames of sealed brood???
« Reply #11 on: April 29, 2011, 02:01:46 pm »
Sterling:  If you lightly shake the frame (not too much or you will damage the brood), the only bees left on it should be the nurse bees.  I have generally found that nurse bees on a frame with brood are well accepted by another hive.

How long has your package been hived?  Why do you think you need to bolster numbers?

The package has been hived ten days and I don't really think I need to bolster. I was just going to feed them [the package] with some of the honey from last fall thats still in another hive and was wondering about adding the bees also. The hive with the honey is full of bees and honey and was going to give them alittle more room.

Offline FRAMEshift

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Re: Can I transport frames of sealed brood???
« Reply #12 on: April 29, 2011, 03:12:07 pm »
When you move frames with brood and bees on them is there any problem with the bees fighting. The reason I'm asking is I was going to take some frames of honey with the bees on them to feed and boost a nuc I started with a package. :?

Most of the bees on a brood frame will be nurse bees, and they are not interested in fighting.  Just don't move your queen by accident.   :-D
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