Why Buy Queens

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Thank you to everyone for watching and supporting our videos! If you have any questions about our videos, please check out our list of FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS on our website, which can be found at honeybee.uoguelph.ca/videos/frequently-asked-questions/

[@gardenfork]

That was brilliant. I raised two queens last year by splits and they didn’t do well. Now I know why. Thx for making these vids.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Our pleasure! Thanks GF.

[@aravindh4217]

@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre sir i am India.....i have a doubt that all bees having the same life style ? Your lessons which will common for all bees types ?

[@mikeries8549]

I've been rearing queens from random swarm cells in my apiary for years. The diversity for me is that I'm a city beek. There are at least 6 other beekeepers in mating range if not more and I think it's more. Lot of back yard beeks here. My queens are extremely good well-mated queens that tend to stay put if managed right. I'm not sure I believe that swarm cell queens make swarmy bees. I guess I'm just lucky.

[@jerryg4534]

swarm cells make the best queens cuz the bees are the ones who selected them and not in an emergency condition

[@jayanddenissejones6648]

Thanks Paul. Excellent information and you've raised issues that I've never considered in my apiary when creating splits. Thanks again! BTW...I ordered and have received one of your belts with the addition of a tools pouch. Wow! Really high quality and works great. Also thanks for the printed direction in forming the leather to fit the queen cage and other tools.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

You are most welcome James and Denise. Glad it's working out with your belt! thanks for your support.

[@Hogavich]

Thank you again UoG! Question: When is best time of year to Re-Queen? Also, if you don't already have one, a video on re-queening an existing colony would be a great resource!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi there Hogavich Requeening can be done anytime during spring summer and very early fall in our part of the world. Acceptance is best when there is anectar lfow or when syrup is fed. We do have a video titled 'Queen introduction'.

[@AhmadAbdi]

Interesting points for sure. bees breed for survival while a beekeeper is also focused on other traits/benefits ... personally, a big fan of Brother Adam's vision/methods and I think it is similar to the overall idea of the video... I believe that the best queens are the ones raised from eggs/very young larvae coming from the best hives "hives with tested and proven traits" and which are put in best swarming-like conditions so that the resulting queens are well fed from early hours till the queen emerges and they hold the best genetics and when coupled with a good drone/mating criteria would mostly result in an outstanding colony ... sorry for the long text and please keep those informative videos coming!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Thanks Ahmad. I agree with your points too :)

[@o-canada]

Thank You Paul, really University level Quality of your lecture, Best Tad

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

You are welcome Tad. Thanks for your support.

[@o-canada]

Thank You for comming back

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

You are most welcome!

[@denpictor8992]

Thanks, lots of food for thought in there.

[@cluelessbeekeeping1322]

What if you get a great hive that doesn't swarm much & then keep them in just a single box, maybe even in just a nuc. A super packed Nuc to the point where they backfill & run out of room to expand. They will for sure want to swarm... Why not let them make swarm cells then slice them off and use those queen cells for splits? I swear...I learn so darn much from your great videos! Thanks for posting them!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

You could do that. Or use some of the non grafting methods like the Miller method. Google it for instructions. Great to hear you have found our videos helpful! Thanks.

[@SquirrelsForAll]

Wonderful presentation, thank you for posting. This ties in directly with the lectures by Clarence Collison.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Well that's putting us in good company! Thanks for you kind remarks.

[@felipegomez5084]

Excellent as always. Kind regards from Chile

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi in Chile! Good to hear you found some value in the video Felipe.

[@hollienguyen5222]

As with any livestock "breeding" is key. This makes perfect sense, allowing the bees to choose is like getting a mutt instead of a pedigree.

[@wendyme4835]

Thank you for sharing this, you’ve raised several good points I hadn’t considered previously. My question though is, are we restricting the gene pool by always managing bees this way, ie are we reducing genetic diversity? If so this in itself carries a range of long-term risks.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

You are welcome Wendy. Thanks for your comment and question. I believe that there is a great deal of genetic diversity throughout North America. I can't speak about other parts of the world. If we split hives randomly and let them raise their own queens queens the outcome is poorly developed queens and a degeneration of the attributes that beekeepers value. I do advocate for beekeepers to support local queen rearers initiatives so as not to rely solely on the large distant queen producers and so you can work with stock that may be better suited to your own environment and management goals. I also think it's a good idea to incorporate new genetics into our colonies periodically to avoid the problems you mention.

[@CharlesCarlsonC3]

Very informative video, and very germane to discussions our club is having now about making splits and breeding for varroa resistant bees. Current strategy is to split the hive and then eliminate all the early emergency queen cells and thereby select for the queen cells that started with the youngest larvae, thereby eliminating runty queens. Thanks!

[@crabmanbc21]

Great information, AGAIN! Thank you for an easy to follow and understand video.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

You are very generous again Jim. Thanks!

[@bigsky14]

I'd be really interested to see some of the research side of things that you do there in the Centre. What kind of studies do you run, who runs them and how, interesting findings over the years, etc. etc. I think I'd always vaguely assumed the main purpose of your work was to breed stock and train new students to be beekeepers, but it sounds like you're doing actual empirical research there too so now I'm curious!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Good suggestion. Our mandate is research and education and they have about equal priority. We were doing the videos to provide practical information but should highlight some of our research too.

[@gokselgunes5855]

We watch your work, we are happy as we watch, we always take your good work as an example. What do you prefer as a race in your health region for your labor. Do you have any sales to Turkey queen bee can send you your. altitude in 1400

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Ho Gokel Thanks for your kind comments! We use Buckfast bees and they do well in a variety of climates. We can't sell to Turkey and don't produce a large number of queens.. There are many Buckfast breeders in Europe that may be able to ship to Turkey.

[@reneebrown5598]

Although I understand what you are saying about breeding the bees to swarm if the bees have plenty of room to grow and put up stores I have never seen a colony throw a swarm. Mine swarmed because I was late because of a cold snap in giving them more frames to work. It rained for 3 days then dropped off cold. I didn't feel comfortable opening the hive. The morning that it was first warm enough they swarmed before I could add frames. But that's ok because now I have 2 colonies. Though I do plan on requeening at least one of them. If for no other reason than to add new genetics to the mix.

[@timjones6637]

Queen live longer? Ok, about how long and when it is time to replace Queen again? Thanks

[@billastell3753]

Some good point for sure but there are problems with buying queens. They are not necessarily from a strain that is best suited to the climate where a person is bee keeping. It takes a special strain to survive in the northern winters and other challenges of a geographic area.

[@jeremypatterson1319]

Would the "inferior queen" point be eliminated by simply giving the bees a frame with eggs in it? I'd think they'd have the perfect situation if there are nurse bees and eggs since they could choose a barely hatched egg to feed royal jelly to. When I did a split this way, they only made 2 queen cells so I assumed they chose what they thought were the best 2 larvae.

[@BESHYSBEES]

Most likely they didnt relise they were queenless and used the only larvae available

[@BESHYSBEES]

Should have had 6 to 12 queen cells per frame 👍

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

HI Jeremy Adding a frame of eggs wouldn't make a difference as they likely already have eggs and larvae on other frames if you split a hive. In emergency supercedure they chose already hatched larvae to rear queens and the oldest one they chose emerges first.

[@w4447]

what's the easiest way to find a queen in your area. I'm sure there are local bee keepers that sell them but is there a place on the web to go to to get one for your area? Michael Palmer is a big advocate for raising your own just for the over wintering characteristics and genetics alone. There is a lot more to consider for raising your own queens me thinks.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Wayne We are fortunate here in Ontario as we have quite a few sideline to commercial beekeepers that raise their own queens and also enough to sell locally. It's an ideal situation. I don't think everyone should raise queens but it is fun to try. I feel that some beekeepers are better off supporting the others who can get into to this in a meaningful way. Check with your local or state/ provincial beekeepers association to find queen sources

[@erichglasl883]

I just purchased a Nikot system since I am not comfortable with crafting, also I am changing from Warre hives to Longstroph, any advise you can give with regard to a Nikot system.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Erich Jentner and Nicot systems can work well I'm told. With a few attempts many years ago, I found that the queens didn't lay at a predictable time. That made it hard to work to a schedule. Coat the device in sugar syrup and put it in a hive for awhile before you need to use it.

[@robertpaluska6354]

For requeening and splitting a hive, in a 2 brood box situation, wondering that if I found my queen and kept her at the lower box for over a week and then split off the top box (queenless) could I just introduce a new laying queen in a cage 24 hours later? I think they would realize they are hopelessly queenless quickly and more apt to accept a new laying queen. What do you think? I want to move capped and older brood to another part of my apiary and not move the entire hive elsewhere. I’m tired of moving boxes so far away. I’m getting old. Haha

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Robert That should work well. You'd have good queen acceptance.

[@catchemalive]

What is the average time you allow a queen in each colony that is NOT having any issues?? 2 years??

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

We requeen when queens are in their third year. Sooner if they aren't doing well.

[@gwenyngruffydd]

Great video 👍🏻🐝

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Thanks Gwenyn!

[@Bobcagon]

Well U of G another great video with a good perspective. Thank you. A question I have is regarding age of queens. It is understandable that laying prowess diminishes with age. How long is a Queen good for optimal laying? How often do you replace queens? Queens only breed once…. Right?.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Bob Thanks for your kind comments. You are right queens only mate between the age of 5 and 10 days. They then generally have enough sperm in their spermatheca to fertilize eggs for 3 years. Some last longer but it's rare to have a queen last 4 years. We re-queen colonies when their queens are three years old. Sooner if we don't like the bees behavior.

[@RoughAndWretchedRAW]

While I agree to an extent I do wonder what affect just getting queens from commercial breeders have in the long term. Yes they are breeding from good stock but what kind of diversity is left when you consider the small amount of known breeders getting the majority of the business and how many of them are breeding near identical genetic strains? Even the idea of long lived queens. Most production beekeepers today suggest to new beekeepers that queens are replaced every season or two when old beekeepers say their bees used to go hard for four years and only lived five. Anyone will say the beekeeper should buy queens to increase diversity but at the same time I wonder if breeders producing and selling 100s or thousands per year in an area aren't having the exact opposite affect?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

It may be different where you live but we have lots of local beekeepers raising queens and selling them to neighbour beekeepers here. That's what I was hoping to be encouraging in this video.

[@RoughAndWretchedRAW]

@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre I wasn't criticizing anything. I agree building your own queens are best or buying some if you lack the diversity in your apiary to prevent inbreeding. I was just wondering out loud. I mean if 3 beekeepers in my area buy queens like Saskatraz for instance. If i'm breeding my own queen I'm likely to get those genetics through drones. If the Saskatraz queens continue to be purchased by neighbors eventually everyone in the area has those genetics. Some new disease that specific genetics have no immunity too could be far more dangerous.. I was just wondering what affect large commercial breeders and focused breeding operations have on genetic diversity? I mean ya, short term new queens from restricted genetics every year are great but what's the long term? I mean if Varroa mites cover a continent in a few years due to modern commercial practices it's reasonable to figure genetics are also.

[@BESHYSBEES]

@@RoughAndWretchedRAW id say breeders look to mix genetics even change lines completely so you will not recieve sister queens season after season its not in their interest to sell shit queens because you dont go back when you get duds

[@mikeries8549]

I fully believe that if all beekeepers would be allowed, forced, whatever it takes to get them to raise their own queen bees from the very beginning that we all would benefit. I run into too many bee havers that are content with replacing dead bees. It takes all kinds I get it but if even half of us would raise bees for fun and I mean starting your own colonies from your own colonies...it'd be great. Imagine a world where every club had 6 queen rearing people.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

I'm with you on this Mike. I don't think queen rearing is for everyone but it would be nice for everyone to have a local source for queens or queen cells.

[@CamManTheWise]

Hi Paul, could you talk a little more about note taking and record keeping. What sort of information do you keep on your hives, what data are you required to keep, and how do you use that information?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Cameron For research and breeding we keep more extensive records than most beekeepers need but that would be a good topic for a video. I'll add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@sherryortiz227]

I disagree as do most swarm cells don't breed to be a swarmy hive. Any hive will swarm under crowded conditions. It's not a swarmy hive, it's a neglecting beekeeper that let's them make swarm preparations. I've only had 1 hive swarm in 8 years and that colony swarmed this year before we were able to inspect before spring weather actually began March 1, 2022. We don't usually open hives that early. But I was prepared with an overwintered queen in a nuc as they didn't get a new mated queen due. My queens usually are from emergency cells or swarm cells both f which I create that situation for those colonies. My queens make it through at least 2 winters usually and are laying machines filling up their brood nests early spring and keeping it full til fall. I'm using the extra brood to make up nucs or boost a new small colony. I raise queens by putting a colony in swarm mode by crowding them or pull a queen to a nuc for emergency cells. I do alot of swarm prevention to all my hive with weekly inspections and adding space.

[@johnwatkins6651]

I ordered a buckfast queen from RWeaver Apiaries. My first buckfast. I hope it’s the same as what you Guys have.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi John I hope you like them too. I don't know what their stock is like.

[@kennith.]

I was told there was a direct relationship between bee aggression and the amount of honey produced. Is this true? For example I have heard many older keepers saying the African bees are more aggressive and produce more honey.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Kennith The science shows there is no genetic correlation between defensive behaviour and honey production. What can lead to this misconception is that if your bees are highly defensive, the stronger colonies will show more defensive behaviour than your weaker colonies. Stronger colonies usually produce more honey. Strong , good honey producers can also be gentle.

[@kennith.]

@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre Thank you for the explanation and reply.

[@noahriding5780]

Is queen size always an indicator of quality? Some questions I had were answered by watching this again, to catch things you said that I'd missed haha.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Yes queen size is a very good indicator of them being physiologically well formed. Of course queen size does also depend on laying conditions ie. they are largest when in full egg laying mode.

[@TheJimmie5150]

where do you get your holders that you use for your tools you carry to the hives?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

I make them! Please see the following links. Bee Belt Sales Locations dancingbeeequipment.com/products/bee-belt innisfilcreekhoney.com/products/bee-belt-paul-kelly backyardbeekeepersupply.ca/products/beeesco www.hungrybearfarms.com/handcrafted-leather-bee-belt-by-paul-ke

[@gdavis360]

Dr. Paul, this year I’m trying a different approach to wild Africanized hives. I’m not just relocating them. Now I’m trying to requeen them with more desired stock attributes. These bees are more than ornery, they are protective! Do you think this method will work long term? I know most of the world thinks these bees to be made up, or fiction. I’m in West Texas ... and yes, they are real.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Graham It's just Paul. I'm waiting for that honorary doctorate! My boss Dr. Ernesto Guzman has had success with breeding better bees within africanized populations in Mexico. This takes a concerted effort with many colonies and controlled mating. An easier and quicker solution is to re queen with European stock purchased from regions in the US without africanization. My sympathies... I've never had to work with the bees you are dealing with. Good luck.

[@paulcarovinci6796]

Great videos. I plan on doing a split wants to be build up. What type of bee do you recommend? I live in New York.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Ask around your local beekeeping community for what queens people have liked. It's a great idea to support a local producer if you can find one.

[@veragiles981]

Thank you so much for this! I'm just nursing a couple of stings from my grumpy bees and had been wondering what to do about them! I completely understand about emergency queens being more likely to produce swarming bees. Can I ask you please, is it best to buy in a virgin queen or a mated queen? Thanks in anticipation!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Vera It's best to buy a Mated queen or a queen cell. The acceptance of virgins is very poor. You could see our videos 'Requeening' and 'Handling queen cells'

[@veragiles981]

Thank you very much for answering. That's very helpful!

[@tomsasleussink8075]

What does the hive do with extra queens that hatched?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

The first queen out makes a piping sound. The other queen that haven't emerged answer by piping back.Then the first queen stings the other queens to eliminate them. You should get a good beekeeping book that will explain all this in more detail.

[@tomsasleussink8075]

Thanks.

[@dyllonrosshowell2575]

Do you have a list of recommended of where to buy queens in the U.S?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Dyllon No we don't . That's a resource that should be available closer to home. Check first with your local beekeepers association.

[@bencrain7083]

I don't agree I believe a bee can tell better than us witch egg should be made a queen and eggs that are better left alone to make workers they rid the cells of eggs and larvae as Bee keepers we all have seen a mummy or just larvae on the ground and not know why they discarded it. Yes as a beekeeper I use the best colonys to breed my queens and have been successful.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Ben Splitting a colony and letting it raise a queen creates an unnatural emergency situation and puts bees at a disadvantage. Scientific studies have shown that 35% of queen reared under these conditions are inferior and are replaced by supercedure - every time a queen is replaced there is another opportunity for something to go wrong.

[@QueOraSi]

What is your take on "On the spot" queen rearing. I've been using a form of it to do my splits, instead of just doing walk away splits.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

I'm not familiar with 'on the spot' queen rearing.

[@QueOraSi]

It was developed by by a fella named Mel Disselkoen. I use his method of urging queen cells by breaking the bottom of a cell with the right age of larva in it . The bees will make a queen cell at that spot. I do 5 or 6 of those on 2 or 3 frames. I remove the queen from the hive in a 4 or 5 frame split to make them queenless and let the girls raise me some queen cells to split my other hives. If for some reason they don't make cells I can return the queen back to that hive. With this method I pick my best hives to make queens.@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre

[@QueOraSi]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3q8q2lri9aorsk

[@robotron7]

Interestingly bees cull 60% of older queens and roughly 30% of younger ones. But it only takes one older inferior queen to destroy cells of younger unhatched sister queens.

[@mohamedkelani7409]

Possible translation into Arabic for all lessons, thank you

[@houssembenabdallah6599]

1:20 In this case, what if I just eliminate the oldest queen cells after a few days of splitting. In addition, I do trust bees on choosing the wright larva more than a human being.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Houssem I doubt you'd be able to tell the oldest from the youngest. They start raising them all at the same time. 35% of the queens reared in an emergency supercedure are later replaced as the bees recognize them as inferior because of the colony conditions they are reared under and because the oldest larvae they chose will the one that emerges first. They do raise larvae up to three days old into queens. Bees are of course fantastic at raising queens but only under supercedure and swarming impulses. Emergency supercedure is something else. Examples of emergency supercedure include the colony's response when a queen is crushed during a hive inspection or when we split a hive and let the queen less portion raise a new queen. This rarely happens in nature. We put the colony at a disadvantage when we do this for reasons mentioned in the video. When queen rearers select larvae they intentionally select the youngest larva.

[@houssembenabdallah6599]

@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre First, I want to say that I'm thankful and I do really appreciate your responses on my comments. About telling the oldest from the youngest, after 7 days from splitting, I eliminate the closed cells and leave the few open ones. Still, what you say about emergency queens make total sense.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

@@houssembenabdallah6599 Ok that would be a good way to tell their age. Thanks.

[@QueOraSi]

When they look like a comma, they are the right age.@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre

[@journaldunapiculteur8222]

Houssem Ben Abdallah I did that too on my walk away split. I removed 3 of 5 capped cells and let the bees finish the last two. Plus, when you "destroy" the queen cell, those bees collect the royal jelly quite fast. I don’t know if they can redistribute it right away for the remaining open cells but there’s no waste. I have a big healthy queen that way. Of course it’s an extra step but I see nothing wrong with it. Would like to hear Paul about this! 🙂

[@craig6903]

Thank you for the video! Great job. I have question about one of my queen. I just inspected my favorite hive yesterday. They are always nice bees and very hard working. I finally found the queen, never seen her before because if was a swarm from a hive last spring. The queen I found was absolutely massive. 2 or 3 times the size of a worker and she has filled up the box with larva and capped brood. I really want to continue her genetics. What is the best way to do that? Is by pulling out and making a split? Or taking a frame of eggs and letting them raise another queen in the split? I’m trying to find the right balance, want to make sure I am making a smart decision, so I can have strong and productive hives.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Craig You won't likely appreciate my answer but here goes. I wouldn't personally want to use that queen to breed more as I'm not interested in bees that have a strong tendency to swarm. But that's me... You could split your hive and leave the majority of the bees in the queenless portion with lots of nectar and pollen. Leave the queenless part of the split in the original location so it remains strong.

[@uwaak]

Have you had any problems with the buckfast turning mean after the second or third generation when they have the chance to bread with the wild bees in the area .

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Any bees that are gentle will become less so over time if they are allowed to swarm or supercede and mate with drones from unselected stock. This is not unique to Buckfast bees.

[@jimhegarty9561]

This is the best video I have seen about queens. Great information delivered so clearly. Thank you!

[@beekeeper8474]

Just want to say thanks for the videos. Wish i could take a class with you. No fluff just info

[@charliesheads6497]

What if at the time of the split, there are no queen cells built? Will they build a cell for a queen and feed her properly to produce a better queen?

[@tomfairbourn6998]

I never thought about the oldest Larva will be the first to hatch that make perfect sense. this is why I enjoy your teachings. I'm sure you've answered this before but why do you use the cloth inter covers?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Tom See our FAQ#1 below. Cheers! 1. Why do we use canvas for the hive inner cover? A: We use canvas inner covers for a few reasons. They make it easy to take a quick peek in the hive, and are cheap and easy to make. They are light, the lids sit down well, there is less excess wax on the frame top bars, and we rarely need to scrape the inner cover. We use 18 oz (#8) canvas - otherwise known as cotton duck. It is available in the USA online at: www.bigduckcanvas.com/number-8-18oz-cotton-duck-canvas.html, In Canada at www.jtsoutdoorfabrics.com/18oz-Cotton-Duck-Canvas-Untreated--Natural-60_p_15038.html) or in Hamilton Ontario at europeantextiles.ca/product/canvas-21oz-natural/. Bees chew through thin canvas so a heavier weight is better. We flip it over periodically when new so the bees thoroughly coat it with propolis. An alternative is a feedbag folded in half. 2. Why do we use single brood chambers? A: Our preference is to keep hives in single brood chambers. We use queen excluders above the brood chamber and then add honey supers. We produce more honey managing our hives in singles vs doubles and we find the hive management much easier. It's become quite common in Ontario, especially over the last twenty years. 3. Are our queens for sale? A: We sell a limited number of queens but do not ship outside of Canada. To contact us about queens, please email [e-mail]. There are two other Buckfast breeders in Ontario: Munro Honey www.munrohoney.com/and Ferguson Apiaries fergusonapiaries.on.ca/. 4. What breed of honeybee do we use? A: We work with Buckfast bees. Check out our website if you would like to learn more about them: www.uoguelph.ca/honeybee/breeding.shtml 5. How do you overwinter double nucleus colonies? A: At the University of Guelph, we winter our double nucleus colonies indoors. You can also winter them outdoors by wrapping two double nucs together with insulation on the sides and top. 6. Are double nucleus colonies prone to swarming? A: With a young queen in the nucs and honey supers above we don't have any problem with these nucs swarming in the first year. We do have to transfer them into a full size box early enough the following spring to prevent swarming. 7. Do we add a frame of pollen or honey into a new split? A: Ideally you add both pollen and honey to a new split. Of the two, honey is the most important. 8. Where to purchase some of the products that we use: Coveralls: We really like Dickies 100% cotton coveralls. www.dickies.com/coveralls-overalls/deluxe-cotton-coverall/48700.html?dwvar_48700_color=GY#start=3. We use velcro to straps at the wrist and usually tuck pants into our socks. Plastic Queen Cages: Mann Lake (USA) and their Canadian distributors sell these. They are made by the French company Nicot. www.mannlakeltd.com/hair-roller-cages. I use a wooden plug on the bottom and screw it in place with a #4 screw after pre-drilling. Queen Grafting Microscope: www.amscope.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=gooseneck+binocular Mini/mating nucleus boxes: Mann Lake (USA) and their Canadian distributors sell these. They are originally from Europe but are widely available. www.mannlakeltd.com/shop-all-categories/hive-colony-maintenance/queen-rearing/nuc-boxes Queen Pheromone: The pheromone strips were developed in Canada. They are called Tempqueen and are made by Intko Supply Ltd. Suite 604, 3345 Kingsway VANCOUVER, BC, V5R 0A7 Canada [phone]. [e-mail]. Mann Lake in the US and several Canadian bee supply companies carry them. Bee belt and bulk bee box: Our apiary manager Paul Kelly manufactures the Bee Belts and bulk bee box. If you are interested in more information, please email him at: [e-mail]. 10..Should you remove any queen cells in a colony before introducing a new queen in a cage? A: Yes, you should remove the queen cells. Look very carefully to make sure you don't miss one. Shake the bees off each frame to make sure you can see the entire frame. Accepted queens are sometimes killed by virgins that later emerge from queen cells. 11. Can you make a split without adding a mated queen/can a split raise their own queen? A: A split can raise their own queen (if they have eggs), but it is better to purchase a mated queen or queen cell from a local bee breeder. Queens raised by a split are reared under the worst possible conditions, are physiologically inferior, and you aren't taking the opportunity to improve your hive genetics. For a number of reasons, colonies get more aggressive if splits raise their own queens. We always use queen cells that we have reared from breeder colonies so we can maintain and improve our genetics. Cells found in hives can be poorly reared if conditions aren't good or if you use swarm cells you, are unintentionally breeding for swarming behavior. 12. How often do we check for swarm cells? A: We check for queen cells only in colonies that are stronger based on our ratings as described in our “Swarm Control” video. We only do this at the time of year bees are prone to swarming (ie just before the main summer nectar flow). In some colonies, we check twice, a week apart, if we have the time and we've found cells in them previously. We stop looking once the nectar flow gets going and the time for swarm preparation has passed. 13. How old is a queen when we replace her? A: We re-queen if a queen isn't doing well or when she is in her third year. 14. How often should you be stung to lessen the chances of developing anaphylactic reactions? A: Please speak with an allergist if you have any concerns regarding bee sting reactions. You don’t need that many stings to build immunity and reduce your chance of developing an allergy. However, reactions can be very different from one individual to the next. For about three years after starting beekeeping you swell more in the spring when the bee season starts. After that most people don't swell up much at all. Some beekeepers apply stings through the winter to keep building immunity. 15. What do we use as candy for the queen cages? A: You can make the candy using honey and icing sugar but the candy you see in the tubes in our videos are purchased with the cages from Mann Lake beekeeping supplies and their Canadian distributors. In Ontario, it's not legal to use honey in queen candy if you are distributing queens. Honey can contain American Foulbrood spores. A specialized, non-drying, sugar syrup (Nulomoline invert sugar) can be used instead of honey. In any case the candy must be made dry enough that it's crumbly. 16. How do we make pollen patties? A: The patty is made from pollen we collect using pollen traps. We mix the pollen pellets with sugar syrup to a dough-like consistency, form the patties between layers of wax paper and then keep them frozen until needed. They will keep for several months in the freezer. 17. How do we make our grafting bars? A: We cut the wood pieces and attach them to the graft bar with liquid beeswax. We then attach the cups with liquid wax. In both cases the liquid wax is applied with a large syringe. In the past, we made the wax cups but now buy them from www.kelleybees.com/. 18. Do we move full honey supers to the top of the stack so the bees can fill the lower ones? A: Some beekeepers shuffle the supers around and do what's called bottom-supering. We place supers back on in the original order and only add new supers on top (top-supering). That way it's easier to see when the bees need more space. The bees also ripen the honey before moving up to the next box. We sometimes harvest full lower supers and put the top ones that aren't full back on in the original order. 19. Do we ever add brood frames to the cell builder colonies to keep their populations high? A: We do add other frames of sealed brood and sometimes we shake in more young bees from brood frames to boost the hives. About once every three weeks we'll boost the hives in one way or another. 20. How do you level hive stands? A: We level the hive stands periodically with pressure treated wood shims. If the hives are already on the stands, we use a hardwood pry bar and a brick fulcrum to lift each end for shimming.

[@CluelessHomesteaders]

Interesting, thanks! I haven’t done any splits yet, but hoping to...

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

:) Good luck CH!

[@bradgoliphant]

This was helpful. Thank you.

[@btrull6018]

Good luck being a hobby beek with a few hives , trying to buy good queens. A lot of queen producers out there, very few breeders who will deal with a hobby beek. Most wont ship USPS and you end up paying more for the Next day shipping than 1 or 2 queens . My belief is that most queen producers do not let the mated queens lay long enough before shipping and then the queens egg laying apparatus aren't allowed to mature enough. See a few eggs and in the cage they go. I will continue to do my own splits

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

That's too bad. It's very different here. Many beekeepers are into raising and selling queens to anyone at any quantity.

[@seanmurray1879]

Could a person who is short of cash try and make “poor man splits” and then just buy queens to re queen afterwards with a “genetically better queen”? If I have a hive or 2 that I can split into a couple of small Nucs can I let them queen themselves or should I just give them a new queen right away. It may sound like a dumb question but a nuc here is 220$ or I can buy a queen locally for 40$

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

I 'd see if you can get queen cells from a local queen rearer. We have a video coming out soon on that topic.

[@stephanwelk3474]

Really enjoy your videos!! Never seen those flexible inner covers which I really like. Any idea where I could get them? Greetings from Alberta

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi in Alberta Stephan Thanks for letting us know you find our videos helpful. Please see our FAQ link posted under each video. We give sources for the 18 oz canvas inner covers.

[@pauldow1648]

Are the breeders you refer to doing Queen rearing and artificial insemination. Or queen rearing , raising and allowing to the queens to fly to the areas drone hangout for mateing and then selling ? Or selling queen cells or mature virgin queens in a cage ? ...

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Almost all queen rearers use natural mating.

[@megamcg4412]

So when I split it is best to order a queen just prior.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Yes that is a good plan as long as your queen producer can supply on short notice.

[@mohamedqadaryusuf1142]

Im in africa i dont think you can buy Queens hete how do i raise queens?? I want to start with Apiculture

[@brianmarv]

Mohamed Qadar Yusuf where in Africa? Africa has over 50 countries..

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Mohammed I'd suggest you look through the rest of our videos. We've done something like 6 on methods for raising queen bees. Raising queens will something you can consider after gaining experience and skills in basic hive management.

[@fuzzy927]

Bees swarm. That is the natural way of reproducing. In my experience queen cells from a healthy big hive make the best queens and can't keep up with men made queens and you do not produce colonies that like to swarm if it is a natural way. The key is to have queen cells that are produced because the conditions are right for swarming otherwise you do end up with two weak colonies. And you only split if there are no emergency cells. When you split a colony with queen cells the new splits think they have already swarmed. Humans do this for a few long time before they starting raising queens. I never had a colony showing swarming behavior after I did the split. Timing is the key for success. I love your videos but do disagree with this one. Local queens are the best in my experience. I do think breeding queens and shipping them around the country contributed to weak colonies as of a lack of local genetic diversity. Keep up the good work.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Lior Thanks for your comment. I appreciate differences of opinion - put in a friendly respectful way. No doubt swarm cells are produced under optimal conditions and are physiologically sound. It 's not easy to breed bees for a low tendency to swarm but we work hard at selecting stock for this trait, amongst others. We requeen colonies that show a propensity to swarm and breed from those that don't. In Ontario most beekeepers purchase queens from a local supplier or raise their own with selective breeding. I think this is the ideal way as we all strive to produce bees that are productive, healthy, gentle and do well in our climate. Enjoy your bees!