propagating your own apiary the what and why of nucleus colonies
TRANSCRIPT
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Propagating Your Own ApiaryThe What and Whyof Nucleus Colonies
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September
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January
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March
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Question:Where can I get more BEES?!?!?
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Where?
NUCLEUS COLONIES
They’re in this box.
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APR MAY JUN JUL AUG
Conventional system:
Purchased packages or
nucleus colonies
$
Typical nectar flow
Control swarmingOver-wintered
colony
Over-wintered colony
OR…
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APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP
Alternative system:
Typical nectar flow
SwarmingOver-wintered
colony
Pre-swarm splits(nucs)
Weak colony
Mid-summer splits(nucs)
BCBA Queen CellsWild Q. Cells
Over-wintered colonies
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NUCLEUS COLONIES
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Why Nucleus Colonies? 1. To make new queens/colonies, i.e. allow nuc to raise
its own queen.2. To split large swarmy colonies.3. To isolate swarm cells, avert swarming. 4. To hive a swarm.5. To store old retired queens.6. To form mating nucs for queen rearing.7. To establish a new queen for requeening large colony.8. To move stock, i.e. brood, bees, stores, among colonies,
among bee yards.9. To control Varroa by splitting and queenless period.10.To winter nucleus units and queens.
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Minimum composition:• One frame mostly capped brood• One frame nectar (or honey) and pollen• Nurse bees from 2-3 frames of brood
comb
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Source of Queen
Laying or virgin queen
“Wild” swarm cell
Queen cell from graft
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Strategies:• Remove a few frames of bees, brood, stores from
strong colony, e.g. to discourage swarming, to open the brood nest.
• Completely break up strong colony into many nucs, esp. during dearth.
• Completely break up weak colony into nucs – best use of weak colonies.
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Avoiding robbing:• Small entrance.• Feed dry sugar or fondant, not
syrup.
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Longer term:Adjust hive volume to match colony strength: e.g. follower boards to reduce volume, move to larger boxes and/or add supers to increase space.
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No nucleus box?Move queen to top box, with NO capped brood or Q cells
Excluder goes here
Honey super
Capped brood and all queen cells stay here
QUEEN
QUEEN CELLS
Colony preparing to swarm
Rule: to prevent swarming,
separate queen from brood.
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Two weeks later…Old laying queen
New laying queen
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Nurse bees& Brood
Making up nucs: How NOT to include the queen.
BroodBees, brood, & Queen All the
bees & queen
1. Remove top brood box from
strong colony; set it aside.
2. Shake ALL the bees into the bottom box.
Empty boxNo frames“funnel”
3. Put an excluder over the box with ALL the bees and
queen.
4. Put the now bee-less and
QUEEN-LESS box of brood above
the excluder
One day
Bees, & Queen
Shake
Queen
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Brood covered by nurse bees
QUEEN
One day later…
Distribute frames of brood and nurse bees among
nucleus boxes.
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Critical points of nucleus colony formation:• Don’t unintentionally add a queen.
• Give them at least a frame of brood and a frame of stores (honey & pollen), both covered with bees.
• Ensure enough workers to care for brood: shake in extra frames of bees if keeping in home apiary.
• Small entrance to discourage robbing.
• Feed dry sugar, not syrup, during dearth.
• Provide shade in hot weather.
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Wintering nucleus colonies: shoot for 15-20 lbs of stores
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Wintering nucleus colonies: clustered together
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Wintering nucleus colonies: atop strong colony
Nucleus colony
Strong colony
Double screen
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Wintering nucleus colonies: outbuilding
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Wintering nucleus colonies: outbuilding
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Why Nucleus Colonies? 1. To make new queens/colonies, i.e. allow nuc to raise
its own queen.2. To split large swarmy colonies.3. To isolate swarm cells, avert swarming. 4. To hive a swarm.5. To store old retired queens.6. To form mating nucs for queen rearing..7. To establish a new queen for requeening large colony.8. To move stock, i.e. brood, bees, stores, among colonies,
among bee yards.9. To control Varroa by splitting and queenless period.10.To winter nucleus units and queens.
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Yes, Nucs
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