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Author Topic: Jenter / Cupkit  (Read 13193 times)

Offline Bcrazy

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Jenter / Cupkit
« on: June 21, 2008, 12:19:47 pm »
Hi Guys,
Its me from over pond. ;)
I am a hobbyist beekeeper with 18-20 hives. I raise my own queens but only a quantity that I will require for the new queens to be effective.  The system I use is the Jenter system as all one has to do is find the best colony (beekeepers choice) best queen, pop her in the kit and 24/36 hrs come back and the darling will have filled the majority of the small brown cups.
These are transfered on the queen cell building frames which have been in with the colony for 24 hrs just to get their smell on the frames.
Then leave alone for 10 days, then check the frames to see how many queen cells are capped. Then transfer to mini Nuc's for queen mating and further use by the beekeeper.

Do any of you hobbyist beeks use this system? :?

Regards Bcrazy.
Bcrazy

Offline Moonshae

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Re: Jenter / Cupkit
« Reply #1 on: June 21, 2008, 01:24:12 pm »
I'm hoping to start using this next season. I'm glad to see that it's as easy as it seems.
"The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with beer." - Egyptian Proverb, 2200 BC

Offline Bcrazy

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Re: Jenter / Cupkit
« Reply #2 on: June 21, 2008, 02:35:56 pm »
Hi Moonshae

This is an easy way to select the type of queens to suit yourself. On saying that please bear in mind this method has no real control over the genetic makeup of the queens.
Get hold of a timetable and follow it to the letter then next year you know what to do and will improve.  I can't emphasize enough the point of selecting a colony either QR or QL that has to be a big colony to draw and produce good queen cells.
Good luck.

Regards Bcrazy.
Bcrazy

Offline Robo

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Re: Jenter / Cupkit
« Reply #3 on: June 21, 2008, 02:43:45 pm »
I raise my own queens as well.  I find local acclimated stock does better for me than getting queens from the South.   I've been using survivor and feral queens for a few years now and have had great success.  No more hybrids for me.

Here is my method (though I wrote this a couple of years ago and have made a few changes since then).

http://robo.bushkillfarms.com/beekeeping/queen-rearing/
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison



Offline Bcrazy

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Re: Jenter / Cupkit
« Reply #4 on: June 21, 2008, 03:08:21 pm »
Hi Robo,

Glad to hear you also raise your own queens, as its suprising how many beeks do not raise their own queens, I suppose ts easier to buy in and less work, but not the feeling of a good job done.


Quote
I've been using survivor and feral queens for a few years now and have had great success.  No more hybrids for me.


Robo I find this statement refreshing as no matter what I do I still end up with hybrids as I have no control over the drones the virgin queens mate with.
Do you have an isolated breeding station?

I think you will find the majority of bees in the UK are of hybrid mixture with beeks importing queens from every conceivable country.  Gone are the days of 'Pure breed bees'.

Regards Bcrazy
Bcrazy

Offline Robo

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Re: Jenter / Cupkit
« Reply #5 on: June 21, 2008, 11:25:05 pm »
Glad to hear you also raise your own queens, as its suprising how many beeks do not raise their own queens, I suppose ts easier to buy in and less work, but not the feeling of a good job done.
I think as queen prices continue to rise and quality of commercial queens seem to be falling, you will see more start raising queens.   In fact I just gave a talk on small scale queen rearing at a bee club this evening.  The interest seems to be there,  I think a lot of folks are just overwhelmed by the process.  Hopefully we can get the word out and take the mystery out of it.

Quote
Robo I find this statement refreshing as no matter what I do I still end up with hybrids as I have no control over the drones the virgin queens mate with.
Do you have an isolated breeding station?

Yes I live in a mountain region and have no other beekeepers probably within 10 miles.  There is also no agricultural crops, so no bees being bought in for pollination either.   The only bees are mine and any ferals.
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison



Offline sc-bee

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Re: Jenter / Cupkit
« Reply #6 on: June 23, 2008, 11:41:57 pm »
Robo
Care to share the changes?  :-D
John 3:16

Offline qa33010

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Re: Jenter / Cupkit
« Reply #7 on: June 24, 2008, 04:45:44 pm »
   As soon as I get some land where I can work with the bees I plan on queen rearing.  For now I'm reading and trying to learn.
Everyone said it couldn't be done. But he with a chuckle replied, "I won't be one to say it is so, until I give it a try."  So he buckled right in with a trace of a grin.  If he had a worry he hid it and he started to sing as he tackled that thing that couldn't be done, and he did it.  (unknown)

Offline BeeHopper

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Re: Jenter / Cupkit
« Reply #8 on: June 24, 2008, 09:33:10 pm »
Hi Guys,
Its me from over pond. ;)
I am a hobbyist beekeeper with 18-20 hives. I raise my own queens but only a quantity that I will require for the new queens to be effective.  The system I use is the Jenter system as all one has to do is find the best colony (beekeepers choice) best queen, pop her in the kit and 24/36 hrs come back and the darling will have filled the majority of the small brown cups.
These are transfered on the queen cell building frames which have been in with the colony for 24 hrs just to get their smell on the frames.
Then leave alone for 10 days, then check the frames to see how many queen cells are capped. Then transfer to mini Nuc's for queen mating and further use by the beekeeper.

Do any of you hobbyist beeks use this system? :?

Regards Bcrazy.


I have an interest in the Jenter System. Please keep us posted on your progress.  :-D

Offline Robo

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Re: Jenter / Cupkit
« Reply #9 on: June 24, 2008, 10:32:38 pm »
Robo
Care to share the changes?  :-D
Sure,  I now use a Cloake board instead of the double screen board.  I've update my site to reflect this change.

rob...
« Last Edit: July 23, 2008, 08:59:56 am by Robo »
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison



Offline Moonshae

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Re: Jenter / Cupkit
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2008, 09:08:13 pm »
When you trap the queen in the cell box, do you trap some workers with her? I didn't, because it was hard enough getting the front back on before the queen scrambled out of it. Hopefully she'll calm down and lay in the cups. Her offspring are super gentle, she was from a queen cell (open mated locally) that was part of my first cutout this year (and ever). I'd really like to see how these genetics perform, they've been doing pretty well this year, and still super gentle. One puff of smoke, and it's like I'm not there, regardless of how long I'm in the hive.
"The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with beer." - Egyptian Proverb, 2200 BC

Offline TwT

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Re: Jenter / Cupkit
« Reply #11 on: July 22, 2008, 10:36:22 pm »
I raise my own queens also, didn't try to raise many this past year (running out of equipment) , I have been building nucs and hives when I get the chance, have stacks ready to be painted now just not much time, not building hive counts up as fast as I could, the cost of equipment even build most myself plus the cost of every thing now days just slowed me down some. I think everyone should at lest try to raise there own queens at lest once, most would be surprised how simple it can be but it takes a lot of equipment and bee's to make up nucs especially when you graft 30-40 cells and hit 80%-90% hatch rate, got to have nucs with bee's to put all them cells in, just takes time to build up, im at 34 hives now and could be a lot more if would do some painting  :-X , got so much going on at times it can be hard to work bee's like I want to but I am sure yaw know what I mean, good luck on the queen rearing. I got about 30 nuc's painted and about 20 needs paint, might do some fall grafts and winter as many as I can. Oh almost forgot, I don't use a system, I graft my queens.
THAT's ME TO THE LEFT JUST 5 MONTHS FROM NOW!!!!!!!!

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Offline Robo

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Re: Jenter / Cupkit
« Reply #12 on: July 23, 2008, 08:56:20 am »
When you trap the queen in the cell box, do you trap some workers with her? I didn't, because it was hard enough getting the front back on before the queen scrambled out of it.

I leave the cell box in the hive (with excluder off) for 24 hours before confining the queen to allow the bees to clean,polish, and get "the scent" on it.   The next day I put the excluder back on and some bees get left in there.   I then put the queen in thru the plug hole.   So yes I ave worker in there when I add the queen,  but they aren't trapped as they can pass thru the excluder.    Having workers in there is not a concern, as they are free to pass back and forth thru the excluder.

I'm speaking for the Nicot system, I don't know if Jenter works the same way.
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison



Offline Moonshae

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Re: Jenter / Cupkit
« Reply #13 on: July 23, 2008, 10:28:25 pm »
I'm speaking for the Nicot system, I don't know if Jenter works the same way.

It does. As I noticed today when I was removing the cage part, there were plenty of workers going in and out.

First big step down; eggs layed in cups. In a few days, off to the soon to be queenless hive for cell drawing!
"The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with beer." - Egyptian Proverb, 2200 BC

Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Jenter / Cupkit
« Reply #14 on: July 24, 2008, 09:21:38 pm »
>Do any of you hobbyist beeks use this system?

I do.  I also graft.  It depends on if I had time to confine the queen or if I'm getting larvae from a good queen in a distant outyard.
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
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Offline Moonshae

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Re: Jenter / Cupkit
« Reply #15 on: July 27, 2008, 07:50:49 pm »
So today I went to remove the cups from the queenright hive and move them into my cell builder...and it turns out that the bees either ate or moved all the eggs from the cups!

I had left the box in the hive for a week before trapping the queen inside, and saw eggs in the cups when I released her. I guess I'll wait until next year to try again.
"The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with beer." - Egyptian Proverb, 2200 BC

Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Jenter / Cupkit
« Reply #16 on: July 28, 2008, 08:08:31 am »
>So today I went to remove the cups from the queenright hive and move them into my cell builder...and it turns out that the bees either ate or moved all the eggs from the cups!

Was it in the middle of the brood nest?  Preferably next to open brood?

>I had left the box in the hive for a week before trapping the queen inside, and saw eggs in the cups when I released her. I guess I'll wait until next year to try again.

Next year is a long time.  Why not now?  Sometimes they remove them even when it's in the brood nest because they just don't think they want brood in that place at that time.  But what does it hurt to try again?  Worst case you end up with extra queen cells.
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
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Offline Moonshae

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Re: Jenter / Cupkit
« Reply #17 on: July 28, 2008, 12:16:41 pm »

Was it in the middle of the brood nest?  Preferably next to open brood?

Next year is a long time.  Why not now? 

There was my mistake, not in the brood nest. I didn't think of that, and it wasn't specified in the instructions. I kept it close to the edge so it would be easier for me to remove.

I might try again, I just hate to keep disrupting the egg donor hive. I don't want them to take it out on the queen and then I'll end up losing these genetics I want to keep.
"The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with beer." - Egyptian Proverb, 2200 BC