No, I'm not talking about naming my hives like Bessie, etc. I'm more interested in tracking the genetics. For example, if I have hive B, and take some frames out and let them create a new queen, I would call the new hive B-1. If I did more than one from hive B, it would be B-2, B-3.... Then if I created new hives from B-2, they would be called B-2-1, B-2-2.... Simple enough. You could track parentage (at least the female half) and see which lines are doing better than others. Then you could say things like, the B-line doesn't do good except for the B-5-line started doing much better. Then you'd know where to select your next queens from.
However the problem comes in if I take hive A and remove some frames, along with its queen, to a new hive. Which is hive A? The location, or the queen? Then similarly, what if the the hive swarms, or the queen dies, or I decide to terminate her? I guess the question is, am I tracking hives or queens? Hive "A" could follow the queen until she is no longer. Hive A could become hive A-1 by removing the queen and hive A moves around wherever you move the queen. Which makes it hard if your mind is fixed on location.... Buying a new queen and inserting into hive A would make it hive C.
Any thoughts on this before I really scramble my notes?
Good luck if you can do it. It sure would let you know which queens are the best. Be sure to mark your queens so that you know when to change a name from B1-1 to B1-2.
You would definitely want to follow the queens, not the hive.
Jim
Quote from: sawdstmakr on May 10, 2016, 01:02:52 PM
You would definitely want to follow the queens, not the hive.
That's for sure.
I keep notes based on "Do I need to take any action ?" at a quick glance, so a typical entry might be :
H57-M 3 Q+ S QLH_1 Green(10) 04 May Comments
1st column: Identification: the 3rd clone of the original queen (or Mother) of colony H57 (Heinz 57 - being mongrels)
2nd column: Queen-Status Q+ (or Q-, q/cell, V, Q?, etc)
3rd Column: Feed status (S = syrup, Fo = fondant etc)
4th Column: Location (Box = Quad Long Hive #1, Green entrance Nuc, on 10 frames)
5th Column - Last Inspected, followed by comments related to that inspection (colony size, behaviour, stores etc).
So - the Queen ID never changes. If that colony is ever split, then new ID's are created as needed. The colony location, on the other hand, often moves during the season. All that's important really, is to come up with a system which works, and makes sense to YOU.
LJ
I was going to do something similar but I realized that it doesn't take long and it gets very complicated. If I didn't have a day job and other hobbies, I would consider doing something like that. Instead, I am just making splits from my stronger hives and letting nature handle it.
Yes, that would be easier. But we're told to take notes on our "hive", and it'd be easier not to, too. And that's what brought it up, how do I refer to my hive(s) in my notes when I put the queen elsewhere? To me that starts getting complicated, if you refer to location, what happens when you move all your hives elsewhere? And if you refer to a box, what if you split it 3 or 4 ways? And if you refer to the queen, then you have the above.
Part of me wants to take no notes, track no hives, and just see what's doing good today. But something, and other's experiences and recommendations, tell me that'd be a mistake.
I've been using the blue painters tape and a permanent marker to put notes on the back of my hives. The tape comes off without messing the paint job and sticks pretty good. I still have tape on my hives from last fall. I just put the basic stuff on the tape and replace it when necessary.
You know, I was thinking that if I had 100 hives, to go in detail with my notes that there's a queen cup 3rd frame in, all I'd be doing is trying to remember and sort out my notes! It's becoming bad enough with just a few hives. The "new" is starting to wear off.
I'm starting to think that something that cao suggested might work better along the lines of and maybe abbreviated: queen cups seen, consider splitting. Or what's wrong, what needs to be done. Or an extremely good hive to clone.
Duane,
Keep in mind that bees make queen cups all the time. They are not an indication that the hive is about to swarm.
Jim
I knew a guy that was in the Russian queen breeder program. They track by marking queens with multiple colors. ie.. blue- green queen.... green- yellow queen etc. Generations of the queen could have the dominant color like green then next generation add red etc. Then as the queen moved you know what she was.
A lot depends on how good your short-term memory is ...
I have to keep notes, and write them down every 2 or 3 hives - if I inspect (say) 6 hives in a row, by the time I'm working on the sixth, I've completely forgotten what the situation was with the first 2.
I have thought about leaving notes on the hive boxes or lids, and even using the well-known housebrick to draw attention to whichever hive needs work - but I do like to make a list beforehand of which hives to inspect on each visit, what needs looking at, and what equipment should be taken with me.
LJ
Quote from: little john on May 26, 2016, 02:15:03 PM
- if I inspect (say) 6 hives in a row, by the time I'm working on the sixth, I've completely forgotten what the situation was with the first 2.
By the time I was working the sixth, I would have forgotten the fifth. :cheesy: That's why I started putting tape on the back of the hive. I write down what I need before I go on to the next hive.
Notes on each hive, and a summary of the notes. Such as; #3 swarm/queen cell hatched. Then on the summary; #3 check May 31st for eggs.