How to breed queens at home. Removal of queen bees without orphaning the family

The strength of any bee colony largely depends on the queen's ability to fertilize quickly and efficiently. After all, this is what ensures the availability of labor, as well as the presence of the required number of drones.

It is believed that a queen bee can worm for 8 years, but it is also generally known that she is most effective in the first two years. Some experienced beekeepers completely rely on bees in this matter, leaving the family to carry out the change of queens themselves. However, for those who want to increase the efficiency of their apiary, it is worth paying maximum attention to this issue. After all, even a current-year-old queen almost always (90%) carries out better seeding compared to an overwintered one, and even more so with an older individual.

Important! In addition to increased efficiency, a young queen prevents many problems that may arise for the beekeeper during the development of the family:

• Possibility of swarming;
• Disturbance of the balance between open and printed brood;
• The need for frequent expansion of the nest or the formation of anti-swarm layers.

The main condition for withdrawal good queens is the presence of a rich bribe. This will provide a sufficient amount of high-quality food for growing larvae. If the weather is bad and there is not enough food, the queens will be lightweight, with a reduced number of egg-laying tubes, and, accordingly, lower productivity.

That's why best period for work of this type - spring and summer (until the middle). An exception may be the southern regions, where honey production is abundant even in autumn. For central Russia, the signal for the start of queen hatching is the flowering of the first honey plants, as well as warm sunny weather.

Important! However, for the queen to start worming, drones are needed. Their development in the cell lasts 21 days and another 10 days. required for puberty. For the uterus this period is about 20 days. Provided that one-day-old larvae were taken for hatching. Therefore, with the appearance of drone brood, preparations begin for the hatching of the queens, and after about two weeks the queen cell is laid.

A queen cell is a honeycomb cell specially built or enlarged in size for the hatching of the queen bee. Under natural conditions, bees lay queen cells in the presence of one of the changes in the life of the bee colony:

• In anticipation of swarming;
• If the queen bee dies, wears out or becomes ill (this is how fistulous queens are removed).

Swarming queen cells are larger in size and hang from the comb like an elongated acorn. For fistulas, they simply expand the usual cell cell; they are smaller. It is easy to distinguish a queen cell from a regular honeycomb by its elongated dimensions - its length can reach 2.4 cm.

The swarm queen is the queen of the bee colony, followed by half of the swarm. It is highly productive and more valuable. Fistulous uterus It is slightly smaller in size and is not as productive compared to the swarming one.

Queen cells also differ in color - swarm cells are darker, since their construction is carried out by individuals at least 25 days old. Having wax glands that are no longer as active, they take used beeswax for construction. Whereas fistula queen cells are completed on finished combs with new wax.

Important! When found queen cells, the beekeeper releases the swarm, and then cuts out the queen cells for layering, leaving one in the colony. When transferring, extreme care should be taken: cut out together with a piece of honeycomb, avoid shaking, changing t, or turning over. You can tell that the uterus has come out and everything is fine by the nibbled, even hole at the lower end. If there is a hole in the side of the cocoon, this means that the queen was killed by bees or there is already a queen in the hive who destroyed her rival.

To initiate the independent establishment of queen cells, beekeepers use simple methods:

• Swarming. The process can be provoked artificially by increasing the number of working individuals. To do this, 3 frames with brood are placed in the colony, the entrance is closed and 3 frames without brood are removed. Thus, the number of young individuals increases sharply, and the family is divided. The queen flies off with the swarm, and the bees, left without a queen, are forced to raise a queen for themselves. However, in such a scenario, it is difficult to predict the timing of its withdrawal;
• Fistula queen bees. In this case, the queen, along with the brood and several frames of bees, is transferred to another hive (about half) next to the old one. The frame on which the queen was sitting is returned to the old hive. A window measuring 10-15 cm (length) by 4-5 cm (width) is cut out below the 1-2 day old larvae. Here, the bees left without a queen lay fistulous queen cells. Every third larva is removed because queen bowls are more large size. The beekeeper's task is to ensure that the larvae for the queen cells are immature (optimally - 1 day). Mature larvae are not suitable for hatching queens and must be destroyed.

Important! To obtain high-quality young queen bees, only developed, numerous colonies are used. Natural reproduction is also achieved in the presence of the queen bee through a barrier lattice. In this case, the family behaves calmly, and from 5-6 fistulous queen cells, the largest individual is selected, since size is a sign of productivity.

To artificially obtain queen bees, several methods are used, the simplest and most accessible of which are the following:

• A family with good quality indicators is selected and a frame with eggs and young brood is taken from it. A small hole (3 by 4 cm) is cut in the upper third of the combs, and the lower edges of the cells are removed. Only 2 larvae are left in the row. The frame prepared in this way is placed inside the hive, where the queen is absent, and after a few days they check how the bees are rebuilding the queen cells. Some beekeepers do not make holes, but simply place frames with larvae, citing the fact that the bees will better choose the larvae suitable for the queens;
• To simultaneously obtain 5-6 queens at once, the queen is transferred to a two-frame insulator, consisting of egg frames and already mature brood. It is covered with frames on top so that the queen remains inside. The structure is placed in the hive, and on the 4th day a nucleus is formed: brood from the insulator, a frame with honey and dry food. The queen and worker bees from 2-3 frames are also placed here. A frame with new larvae laid by the queen is prepared in a separate room: the lower border of the comb is cut off at the place where the larvae begin. After this, she is placed back in the hive;
• Another way to get both large number queens, is the use of artificial grafting frames on which up to 30 bowls cast from wax are placed. This conclusion queen bees is well described in the video from the very beginning to the placement of the young queens in their new families. In this case, the larvae are transplanted from the honeycombs into artificially made bowls. Some beekeepers attach cut pieces of honeycomb with 1-day-old larvae to the grafting frame. With this option, beekeepers avoid damaging the larvae during transplantation.

Important! When the queens are preparing to emerge from their cell, the queen cells are cut out, selecting the best of them, and each is placed in a separate cell until the queen emerges. Large plastic syringes with holes for ventilation are used for the cage. A little food is added to the cages. This is done so that when the uterus emerges early, it does not die of starvation.

For successful implementation When working to obtain productive queens, you should follow the recommendations of experienced beekeepers.

What not to do:

• Breed queens without pure breeding material;
• Shake honeycombs with larvae or queen cells;
• Allow royal jelly to dry out during grafting;
• Do inbreeding;
• Carry out work in the absence of optimal temperature and humidity (+28 +30˚С and 80-90%).

• For grafting, use binocular glasses, a diode flashlight, and also a “Chinese” - a special spatula that captures royal jelly along with the larva;
• To obtain large eggs, place the queen in an insulator;
• Select larvae for grafting from the middle of the comb and of approximately the same size;
• About 30% of queen cells are discarded, so to obtain the required amount, take this fact into account when planting;
• Discard small, crooked, overstretched queen cells;
• Feed the caring families with protein food.

Important! The most productive queens are obtained by selection on one breed of bees. In this case, there is a guarantee of hereditary transmission of characteristics. Interbreeding does not have such prospects.

Hatching of queen bees on our own does not present any particular difficulties if there are large purebred families and suitable conditions. However, it requires some experience and knowledge, as well as increased care when performing each stage of work.

Hatching queens for a novice beekeeper - video

The health and vitality of the uterus plays a very important role important role, since it is the only fertile individual in the family that lays eggs and provides young worker bees. Hatching can be done at home, although many beekeepers prefer to buy these individuals from special farms.

There are several ways to withdraw at home. In this article we will describe the most popular of them, and photos and videos will help you master this process yourself.

How queens are hatched at home: video

The queen bee is the largest individual in the hive. She is the only one capable of laying eggs, so the well-being of the whole family will depend on her health.

Note: Under natural conditions, the life expectancy of an individual is about 8 years, but in apiaries they are changed every two years to maintain productivity.

Obtaining such individuals at home is carried out according to a clear algorithm(Figure 1):

• Sowing the fertilized egg: only from the fertilized egg can the queen of the hive be hatched, who will subsequently lay eggs to breed worker bees. Infertile eggs can only produce drones.
• In the honeycomb, the bees build a special bowl into which the fertilized egg will be laid.
• Worker bees protect the larva and collect royal jelly for it.
• On day 7, the queen cell is sealed together with the larva and food.

Figure 1. Stages of breeding a queen bee in natural conditions

The larva, feeding on royal jelly, first turns into a pupa, and then into a full-fledged individual and emerges from the queen cell on about 16 days. The full technology is shown in the video.

Peculiarities

Several main individuals can develop in one hive. The first one to hatch will destroy all the others, so this process must be strictly controlled in order to promptly relocate individuals to other families or form offspring.

You can determine the hatching date by the color of the queen cell: the darker it is, the less time is left until the bee emerges from the cocoon.

Rules

In prosperous apiaries, the life expectancy of the main individual can be up to 5, and sometimes up to 8 years. However, it makes no sense to keep the main individual in the hive for so long, since this bee gradually loses its productivity and the family stops renewing itself.

It is best to change it every two years. However, this period is conditional, since before sending the family for the winter, it is necessary to evaluate the condition of the individual and, if it is too old or has decreased productivity, it should be replaced with a new one. This way you can reduce the risk of death during the winter.

Output technology

In order for the breeding of such individuals in small apiaries to be successful, it is necessary to follow certain technologies and rules of beekeeping (Figure 2). Firstly, it is carried out only in warm time year. Secondly, to obtain a healthy individual, you need to choose the strongest families that are not prone to swarming.

Figure 2. Apiary breeding technology

It is recommended to begin hatching after replacing old bees with young ones after wintering, as well as in the presence of drone brood. For this purpose, it is better to use larvae that were laid by an old bee. The fact is that the individuals that appeared naturally, much stronger than those that appeared artificially. This is explained by the fact that such larvae initially received much more nutrition from their nurses.

Beekeeping: video on hatching in small apiaries

In small apiaries, hatching without transfer of larvae is predominantly practiced. This is the easiest way and does not involve a lot of labor or stress for the family.

In this case, the main bee is removed from the colony for a while and a comb with open brood eggs is selected. The honeycomb is carefully trimmed so that the young hatched larvae remain along its edges. After this, it is immediately placed in the center of the nest so that the bees can build queen cells on it.

This method will be effective only if a sufficient number of larvae of the same age have appeared in the family and they are evenly distributed throughout the comb. For large apiaries, this method is not suitable due to its high labor intensity and the need to constantly monitor the condition of the frames with eggs.

The author of the video will tell you how to breed such an individual in a small apiary.

Removal of queens in syringes: video

The output in syringes is simple, accessible, but effective way, which allows you to breed healthy individuals and prevent fights between them.

To isolate a bee, you do not need to buy special equipment. A regular 20 ml syringe with a piston that moves easily but does not fall out is perfect for this purpose.

To remove this method, follow these recommendations:(Figure 3):

1. You need to remove the piston from the syringe and drill 4 rows of holes, 6 in each, along the entire length of the syringe. Top holes should be at the level of the piston entrance to the syringe. They will be used for securing if the bee needs to be transported.
2. A hole for the bowl is drilled in the rod, at a short distance from its center.
3. The bowl is attached to the hole, and the remaining part of the piston is cut off with a regular knife.
4. Candi balls are placed at the bottom of the syringe and several bees are released inside, which will feed the main individual after exiting.

Figure 3. Preparing syringes for hatching

This method allows you to qualitatively isolate individuals from each other. In addition, they can be transported freely, since air will flow inside the syringe, and the piston will allow the container to be fixed so that the bee cannot get out. The only drawback can be considered the labor costs for the manufacture of the insulators themselves. To more clearly show how to properly prepare syringe equipment, we recommend watching the video.

Hatching queens without orphaning the family: video

One of the most modern methods withdrawal is considered without orphaning the family. In this case, the individual is not removed from the hive, but is left inside behind a special dividing grid, which provides the bees with free access to the queen.

In this way, the family continues to raise different brood and hatch larvae, but the existing individual cannot destroy the young, and after they emerge from the cocoons, the beekeeper can form new families.

Peculiarities

Despite the high popularity of the method, it also has some disadvantages. The main one is that worker bees from the rearing colony poorly provide queen larvae and lay a large number of fistulous queen cells (Figure 4).

The supply becomes especially poor immediately after isolation of the uterus. To prevent this, you need to isolate it in advance, and only then start breeding new ones. In addition, the acceptance of larvae for rearing depends on the characteristics of the breed. For example, southern bees are able to feed much more bees than northern and high-mountain bees.

Features of breeding without orphaning the family are shown in the video.

Rules

The larvae are given to the family to raise in the spring, when warm weather stabilizes. It is important not to allow the number of larvae to exceed. One family can feed no more than 25 young queens, but it is better to reduce this number to 20 so that the family does not weaken.

Figure 4. Technology of withdrawal without orphaning the family

You can increase the number of larvae later, when the active period of honey collection begins. In summer, the number of young queens that one family feeds can reach 35. If the same colony is used for breeding queens almost continuously, the number of larvae should be gradually reduced to prevent the colony from weakening.

Removal of queens without transfer of larvae

Queens can be hatched not only in summer, but throughout the year if you use the Zander method, in which hatching is carried out without transferring larvae (Figure 5).

This method allows you to constantly obtain a large number of individuals, which can be used to replace old individuals, form new families and offspring. This is why the no-larval transfer method is great for large apiaries.

Peculiarities

To hatch using this method, you need to cut the frames into strips so that only one larva remains on each strip. Each cell is attached to a small wooden block and fixed to the mother frame bar using liquid wax.

Figure 5. Hatching steps without larval transfer

This method has many advantages. It is quite simple and suitable even for novice beekeepers. However, when using it, there is a need to spoil a large number of honeycombs, and some of the larvae, which in the future may become queens, are destroyed.

The essence of the method

In order for the procedure without transfer of larvae to be successful, a certain algorithm of actions is followed.

Step-by-step instructions include the following steps:

1. A strong family places a light brown honeycomb with sugar syrup in the center of the nest.
2. After four days, when eggs and larvae appear on the honeycomb, the queen is removed from the colony and transferred to a small nuc.
3. The honeycomb is removed from the nest and small slits measuring 20*5 cm are made in it.
4. In the top row, the number of larvae is reduced (one is left and two are removed), and the comb is placed between frames with open brood.
5. After three days, the frame is inspected and the fistulous queen cells are removed.

Within five days after the removal of the queen, the bees will seal the queen cells, and after another 10 days, the mature queen cells are taken and placed in separate incubators, and the queen is returned to the colony.

It is common for bees to have new queens even without human intervention: this happens in cases where the previous queen ages or dies. However, in order for the business to be profitable, beekeepers need to be able to breed queens themselves, because this is much cheaper than increasing the number of a swarm with bee packages.

Basic rules for breeding queens

Before proceeding directly to the practice of breeding, the beekeeper needs to acquire a theoretical basis: how the queen differs from other bees, as well as what kind of family the future queen bee needs, and how it should be prepared.

In order for the process of breeding queen bees to bring results, you should: following rules:

• Only healthy individuals with high productivity should participate in the process of breeding queens;
• for breeding, it is necessary to observe optimal conditions - maintain humidity and temperature at the proper level;
• start the process of breeding new queen bees only if there are sealed drone broods (otherwise both queens and drones will appear at the same time);
• Follow the schedule prescribed for each withdrawal method.

How to distinguish the uterus?

The uterus has a number of visual features that distinguish it from. It is quite simple to distinguish the queen from other bees; you just need to carefully examine the hive and pay attention to following signs:

• The queen bee is always larger than other bees. Her body is wider and longer than that of other, still young queens, drones or worker bees.
• The queen bee's belly has a pointed end that protrudes backwards.
• Bees have a kind of barb on their stinger that can be seen with a magnifying glass. The queen bee has a smooth and straight sting.
• The queen bee's legs are located almost perpendicular to the body, spread out. In some bees, the legs are generally directed forward and backward, and not to the sides.
• The rest of the bees treat the queen with a kind of respect: they cluster around her or make way for her when she goes somewhere.

Family choice

The breeding of queen bees begins with the selection of parent families, because all future offspring that they give depend on the traits characteristic of this particular queen and drones. In addition, future queens are responsible for the productivity and strength of the families they will lead. Thus, it is necessary to choose only among the strongest, most resilient and healthy.

The following list of requirements is presented to the family:

• maximum honey productivity is a critical requirement for the beekeeper;
• the family must be strong and resilient throughout the year, especially in the winter;
• family health and disease resistance are the key criterion for the viability of the future uterus and all the offspring that it will give.

If the apiary is owned by a person who is extremely responsible and conscientious about beekeeping, then all this data about the families can be found out from the accounting journal.

Family preparation

Preparations for withdrawal should begin no later than a year before the expected date. At the same time, you can improve the health of selected families by providing them with all the resources necessary for wintering and carrying out health measures.

List of preparatory activities:

• Check the quality of the honey produced. If it critically does not meet the requirements, it is better to opt for another family.
• It is strongly recommended to clean and disinfect the hives, thereby preventing nosematosis.
• Give a stimulant. In addition, bees must be provided with non-crystallizing food on an ongoing basis.

If the breeding of queen bees is planned in the spring season, then the actual procedure should be carried out only after the overwintered bees have been completely replaced by young, newly born ones. As a rule, this process will be completely completed in the second third of May. In cases where the beekeeper needs to start the process earlier, it is also necessary to carry out a set of measures:

• bees need to be fed with carbohydrate and protein supplements;
• make the living of insects comfortable, in particular, insulate and protect the hive from the wind;
• You will need to remove the hive from the winter hut a little earlier than usual.

The formation of colonies that will raise future queen bees should begin immediately after the replacement of old bees with new ones. Such a raising family should consist of at least 2 kilograms of individuals, 4 frames of beebread and 10 kilograms of honey.

Methods for breeding queens

Removal of queens can be carried out either naturally or artificially. The choice of method depends on the experience of the beekeeper, the time he has and the means available to him.

Natural

The first natural method of breeding queen bees, which is also the simplest and most common among novice beekeepers, is natural reproduction of bees, also called swarming.

The method received this name due to the fact that it requires the transition of the selected family to a swarm state. To do this, first of all, you need suitable comfortable conditions in the hive:

• 3 frames with brood are placed in the hive, the entrance is covered;
• It is also necessary to ensure that there are no broodless frames in the selected hive;
• Next, you need to wait until the queen cells are laid, after which layering should be formed on them and the new frames.

It is impossible to predict exactly when the laying of queen cells will occur, which is an undeniable disadvantage of this method. In addition, the quality of the queen cells leaves much to be desired.

And the second, popular among beekeepers, is a natural method of breeding - fistulous queen bees. The main advantage of the method is the ability to predict the appearance of queens, resulting in obtaining new queens at the right time:

• bees must lay fistulous queen cells;
• subsequently, a strong, prepared family is selected, the queen from which must be transferred to a new hive with two frames of brood;
• bees from several other frames (also from a strong family) are shaken off into the same hive;
• thus, a ready-made layer is obtained, which will ultimately be transferred to a new, already permanent, hive;
• In the meantime, bees from the old hive, having lost their queen, will lay fistulous queen cells, and the beekeeper’s task is to ensure that they are only on mature larvae.

The queens obtained by this method will be stronger, more fertile and healthier than the previous method.

Artificial

Along with natural methods of removing queen bees, there are also a number of artificial ones: the emergency method, using an insulator, the Kashkovsky method, using the Nicot system, the Cebro method.

Artificial methods are more complex, but more productive compared to natural ones due to the fact that they take into account the life processes of bees.

Emergency method, perhaps the simplest and fastest among artificial ones:

• A frame with brood is taken from the strongest and most prepared family. But it must be shaken off from bees so as not to accidentally transfer the local queen.
• In the frame where two larvae should remain, remove lower walls, after which it is installed in a new home. Next, the frame is installed in the home of a family that has lost its queen bee.
• As a result, in one hive the queen will create a new bee generation, and in the other, of the two bee larvae, the bees will soon create new queens to replace the transferred one.
• If the fistulous queen cells were never found, it means that the queen is still present in the hive, and we need to look for the reason why she stopped producing offspring.

When using method with insulator, it is extremely important to use the breeding calendar:

• a strong queen from a selected prepared family is placed in a so-called “isolator” (made of two frames and gratings) installed in a well;
• the frames that make up the insulator - a frame with brood and an empty one;
• the main rule of the method is that the uterus should not even have a chance to escape from the structure;
• as soon as the queen bee lays brood, she must be returned back to the larvae;
• in the meantime, a nucleus is created - a frame with honey, dry food and freshly made brood;
• several bees from other frames and the queen itself are placed there;
• the freshly obtained brood at high humidity and temperature is cut off along the lower border and placed in the same box from which the queen was first taken;
• queen cells are cut off and placed in the nucleus;
• Then all that remains is to wait for the appearance of new queens.

The next artificial method is more advanced, and for implementation it requires the use of auxiliary devices, in particular, you need to purchase (or make it yourself) Nicot system.

Methodology:

• the cassette is installed in the center of the frame;
• then the grafting frame is made;
• the cassette must be thoroughly cleaned;
• the queen bee is transplanted into the finished structure;
• a separate raising family is formed;
• the grafting frame is placed with this family.

In the future, it is only necessary to monitor the process of formation of the uterus.

Kashkovsky method involves the following activities:

• from the very beginning of honey collection, it is necessary to make a layering, where frames with bees, the local queen, sealed brood, beebread, wax, dry land and honey are transferred;
• a small number of worker bees are shaken off there;
• the cuttings are left in a warm place for a month;
• in the meantime, when bees are actively creating new fistulous queen cells in the hive, the beekeeper needs to cull, leaving the largest and healthiest larvae;
• After a while, the old queen is removed, and the young one is replaced.

Thus, the process of removing the queen bee takes about 15 days. Soon, the newly-made barren queen will fly around, mating with drones, and within three days she will be able to produce fertile seed.

How to remove a queen without a larva?

The Zander method or breeding queens without transferring larvae in beekeeping is currently considered the closest to perfection. The method was supplemented for many years, as a result of which it even lost its original name.

Today, breeding a queen without a larva has become widespread due to its cost-effectiveness and simplicity:

• a brown honeycomb sprinkled with honey syrup is placed in the nest of a strong family prepared for hatching;
• as soon as eggs are laid in the comb (usually this happens within three to five days), the queen is removed and placed in the nuc;
• the placed honeycomb is removed from the nest;
• triangular cuts (windows) are made in the honeycomb with a sharp knife, 20 centimeters in height and 5-6 centimeters in width;
• in the top row you need to thin out the larvae: 1 larva remains, 2 are removed;
• the frame is installed in a nest between the frames with open brood;
• after three days, fistulous queen cells (if any appear) are removed;
• on average, after five days the bees seal the queen cells;
• after ten days, mature queen cells must be removed and placed in cells previously filled with honey;
• the cells are placed in a nest with brood;
• Queen bees emerging from queen cells can be used to create layering or replace old queens.

Growing the queen

Despite the fact that queen bees live a long time and their resistance to unfavorable conditions- an object of envy, they also need care.

Basic rules of care

First of all, the queen needs to be provided with the same comfortable living conditions as the bees:

• maintain optimal temperature and humidity levels;
• provide food in sufficient quantities;
• expand hives as needed;
• carry out disease prevention;
• carefully prepare hives with queens for wintering.

Despite the fact that there are no specific requirements for the care of queen bees, the existing ones should be given increased attention. If the rules of care are not followed, the queen bee may get sick and even die, which will cause significant damage not only to the entire bee family, but also the amount of honey obtained as a result.

Two-part family maintenance

The so-called two-queen keeping of bees is expressed in such an organization of bee colonies, when individuals from one brood nest have access to another brood nest, which already has its own queen bee. This can be done with the help of two dividing bars, which prevents the two queens from meeting and engaging in combat.

Competition is an integral part of the nature of queen bees. The weaker individual always ends up killed by the stronger one.

In multi-hull hives

Many beekeepers resort to using multi-hull hives. This method allows you to maintain a large bee colony, providing two queens. The only condition that must be strictly adhered to is to ensure the maximum possible distance between the buildings, preventing two queen bees from meeting.

Queen bees living in multi-hull hives also produce more offspring, which in the long term leads to an increase in the amount of honey produced.

In sunbeds

• It is much more difficult for a sunbed hive to become overcooled, and queen bees are very sensitive to temperature changes;
• this type of hive makes it easy to differentiate bees, thereby providing the opportunity to keep either several bee families, or one large one, but with several queens;
• easier to transport and move;
• optimal choice for the artificial method of breeding queens.

Removing queen bees is a long and labor-intensive process that requires increased attention and sometimes painstaking work. But the result will not be long in coming: following the advice, already in next year you can get more resilient bees and more honey.

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In order to developed successfully, you should definitely provide your apiary with queen bees that have a stable and highest egg production. The growth rate and productivity of a bee colony depend on the fertility of the queen.

At the same time, removing the queen may seem like an overwhelming task to a novice beekeeper. In this case, a beginner in the field of beekeeping is recommended to consider the simplest methods that can greatly facilitate his task.

Calendar

First, you should create a special calendar, without which there is no point in moving forward for a novice beekeeper. This calendar should display all the work in the apiary and the exact deadlines for their completion. This calendar is divided into two main parts (disks). To begin, cut out the outer disk, on which large numbers should indicate the day and month. Both parts of the calendar should then be glued onto plywood or thick cardboard, and then connected using a bolt. The calendar must indicate the date when the queen bee begins laying eggs. It is recommended to use separate calendars for each individual bee colony.

Methods for obtaining a queen bee

To obtain a good queen bee, the beekeeper should follow certain rules. Firstly, queen bees must be bred in warm weather and only in quiet, strong bee colonies. It is recommended to start hatching after replacing overwintered bees and in the presence of drone printed brood. It is necessary to hatch queens from the larvae of their own queens. Moreover, the breeding process should begin with the formation of a family of drones.

Obtaining queen bees using swarm queen cells

In terms of live weight and fertility, swarming queens often exceed those queens that were eaten artificially. This is understandable, since swarm queens are initially raised in more comfortable conditions in the presence of a large number of bees, which are called nurses. While still larvae, such queens are provided with full royal jelly, which increases all the quality indicators of the queens. In those bee colonies that are actively preparing for swarming, egg laying is significantly reduced, but larger eggs are laid. About the seventh day after the queen cells are sealed, they can be cut out with a small piece of honeycomb using a knife. You can leave only one queen cell in a bee colony, which is considered the best. Place all the cut out queen cells in cells, where up to ten bees are first released and the candy is laid out. These cells are constantly supported elevated temperature, and place them in the central part of the nest. After this, the smallest queen cells are destroyed, but the straight, largest ones are left for the full rearing of queen bees.

Obtaining queen bees without transferring larvae

This method of obtaining queens is mainly used in small apiaries, and this method is considered the simplest and most widespread.

With this method, the queen bee is temporarily removed from the selected colony, then the beekeeper should select the honeycomb that contains young open brood with eggs and larvae. This comb should be trimmed so carefully that the newly hatched larvae remain at the edges. Next, the cut honeycomb is immediately placed in the very center of the nest, and several queen cells are laid by the bees along the edges of the cuts. This method is considered effective only if young larvae of the same age cover the comb evenly.

As for large apiaries, you need to breed a hundred, or even several hundred queen bees. In this case, beekeepers need to use frames in which larvae from the breeding family and cells cut from the honeycomb are glued together with wax. Instead of such frames, wedges can also be used. Honeycombs with larvae of the same age are selected from the mother colony, then they are very carefully transferred to another room and laid flat on the table. After this, use a knife to cut the honeycombs into strips, then further cut them into pieces so that each of them contains a larva with a whole cell. Next, the cell is glued with the non-shortened side to the wedge using warmed wax and the teacher is placed in the family.

There, in the newly-minted hive, you need to shake off the bees from two or three additional frames. Thus, we will get a formed layer, which we place for further permanent residence in the apiary. Well, what happens in the old hive? There, the bees were left without their queen, so they were forced to take radical measures, namely, to lay fistulous queen cells. In this case, it is imperative to ensure that the queen cells are laid on immature larvae. Otherwise, they need to be cut off.

The quality of such fistulous queen bees is quite satisfactory. Let us remind you that today more than one method has already been invented to improve their quality and create the most optimal conditions for this, but more on that in another article. The only disadvantage of this method may be that the queen cells are placed too close on the honeycomb. When they are cut, the entire honeycomb is damaged.

Artificial withdrawal

The simplest method

To do this, again, you will need to determine the strongest family, and then the breeding of the queens is carried out as follows. We select from this family a frame on which young brood and eggs are sown. A small hole is cut in the upper third of the frame, approximately 3 cm high and 4 cm wide. All the lower walls of the cut cells are removed and only 2 larvae are left. Now the frame can be placed in the nest of a queenless colony and in three to four days it will be possible to check the laying of queen cells.

When the bees have laid the number of queen cells you need, you can start cutting off the fistulous ones. If no queen cells are found, then the family has a living queen, but something is wrong with it. Individuals bred in this way are of good quality and the beekeeper can always control the process. But it is better, for optimal results, to use a calendar for breeding queens. Below is a video about how you can urgently remove a queen bee.

Another easy way

Hatching queens using this method is used when it is necessary to hatch at least five to ten queens at the same time. As you probably already understood, the main criterion for the quality of the offspring will be work on strong family. We find such a family in our apiary and place its uterus in a special two-frame insulator. A frame with mature brood and a frame with cells for laying eggs are also placed here; it will be light brown in color. The structure is covered with frames on top to prevent the queen bee from escaping.

The insulator is placed back into the colony between the frames with the brood. On the fourth day you can begin to form. It will consist of three frames: with honey, dry food and brood from the insulator. We add working individuals from two or three more frames to it. And we put the uterus there from the isolation ward. The frame with fresh brood is taken into the house, where the lower border of the beginning of the appearance of larvae is cut off. Such a frame is placed back in the family from which the queen was originally taken.

Now we wait about four days and check the bookmark, while removing all the fistulous queen cells. When there are approximately two days left before the appearance of the mothers, the queen cells are cut out. Then they are put back to ripen. After the release of the maternal individuals, we place them in the cores.

Other methods

The simplest methods for breeding queens are described above. They are also the most used among domestic beekeepers. All other methods are based on the above. It is true that there are newer methods, but they have not yet been thoroughly developed in practice. Therefore, they will not be mentioned in this article.

Criteria for successful withdrawal

Although the task is not difficult, it still requires compliance with some basic rules or criteria, without which all the beekeeper’s efforts will be in vain. The first and most important thing is to carry out all the work on a strong family, then we can talk about good quality new queen bees. The second is to ensure optimal conditions, including diet and temperature, necessary for good incubation. And finally, this is the creation of high-quality paternal and maternal bee colonies.

The main task of the paternal family is to breed high-quality and early drones. After all, they are the ones who must provide the uterus with an abundance of seed material. Without them, even a high-quality maternal specimen will not be of any use. The task of the maternal family is to raise good queens. At the same time, it must be remembered that it is necessary to form maternal families when there are sealed drone broods in the paternal ones.

Calendar

A successful conclusion also directly depends on the timely completion of work. A delay could lead to disruption of the entire event. Therefore, every beekeeper should have a calendar nearby.

Below are two such calendars, one in the form of a table and the other in the form of a circle. Guided by them, you can accurately trace the development of maternal individuals and draw up a clear schedule for hatching them.

Video “Queen breeding for beginning beekeepers | Honeycomb cutting method"

This video from the Beekeeping and Nature channel shows the removal of queens for novice beekeepers using the honeycomb trimming method.