Queen Question

[gjcluttrell]

I am thinking about trying to raise my own queens. I am familair with the procedures but need some advice. This may seem like a silly question but if I succeed with raising some queens, what do I do with them all if I can't sell the extra queens I have that I don't need? I have some spare nuc boxes but do I just put the queen in the nuc box by herself until I find a place for her or could I just place her in a cage, in the nuc, and shake some young bees in the nuc with her for a few days before releasing her to start a brand new hive? Thanks

[Michael Bush]

>This may seem like a silly question but if I succeed with raising some queens, what do I do with them all if I can't sell the extra queens I have that I don't need?

Bank them.

> I have some spare nuc boxes but do I just put the queen in the nuc box by herself until I find a place for her

No.  She will die by herself in a very short time.  Probably a day or less.

> or could I just place her in a cage, in the nuc, and shake some young bees in the nuc with her for a few days before releasing her to start a brand new hive?

Yes, if there are young bees they can take care of her.  But is she mated?  If she is, then she's already in a mating nuc anyway isn't she?  Can't you just leave her there?

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesqueenrearing.htm

[gjcluttrell]

Thanks for you information. You ask is she mated? Once the queen emerges from the queen cell do I let her take her one time flight before I place her in a cage in a nuc with some young bees from a few hive? Or will she take her mating flight after she is released from the cage in the nuc with the young bees?

[Michael Bush]

> You ask is she mated? Once the queen emerges from the queen cell do I let her take her one time flight before I place her in a cage in a nuc with some young bees from a few hive?

She will have to emerge in her own hive or she will kill all the other queen cells.  This is usually a mating nuc with a minimum of bees, but could be a queenless hive.

> Or will she take her mating flight after she is released from the cage in the nuc with the young bees?

She need to EMERGE into the nuc with the young bees.  That means you move the queen cell into the nuc two days before she emerges.  Otherwise your queen rearing will result in only one queen.

[Robo]

I am thinking about trying to raise my own queens. I am familair with the procedures but need some advice.

Not trying to be critical, but by the questions you are asking, I don't believe you are familiar enough with the procedures. I think you need to do more studying before you attempt to raise queens.  Check out the reprinted articles forum.
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?board=56.0

Michael has made some great books on queen rearing available for free from his website.

[Brandy]

I would also suggest that instead of selling any of your first queen's you would use them yourself.  In making up your mating nuc's you will get a good idea of the quality of the queen's and then determine what to do with the extra.  There's a percentage loss with acceptance, emerging, mating, and then laying ability.  So, it's quite possible you will not end up with more quality queen's than you can use.