Queen cells on e-bay??????

Started by mlewis48, January 04, 2008, 08:27:19 AM

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mlewis48

January 04, 2008, 08:27:19 AM
  Hello everyone! Hope that everyone had a great Holiday and a Happy New Year. Now to the subject at hand. While looking at E-bay, for a deal on something, I saw that someone was selling queen cells? Looked like a good deal but........... Since I am new to the Art of Beekeeping, always looking for a good deal to expand my operation. Looked like a good deal but  what kind of success rate would you have from cells?? They were Minnesota Hygenics. From previous post, I dont know if that would be the way to go? How long would the cells survive out of the hive? Kind of confussed, didnt know that you could do that. Looked like a cheap way to go, considering the price of new queens. Anyway, dont mean to ramble on but you never know untill you ask.
                                         Have a Great Day,
                                         Marcus :? :?
" Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are gonna get"

Cindi

#1
January 04, 2008, 11:32:17 AM
Marcus, I don't know about that, I would be leary.  You will hear more answers from seasoned beekeepers.  When the queen cells are capped (and this is what must be on e-bay), they are going to emerge in a few days.  I don't get how they can put them up for sale and expect them not to hatch.  Sounds rather hokey to me.  But then, who knows. 

If the seller put them on e-bay and sold to a person the same day and could deliver the same day, then I would trust that, a little bit.  It is the same with other things in life, you get what you pay for.  Have a wonderful great day, Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

BMAC

#2
January 04, 2008, 12:06:09 PM
There is nothing Hokey about the queen cells.  The queen cells are capped at like day 8.  They are shipped around day 14, or 15.  Shipping generally needs to happen in an overnite type shipment.  As soon as you get the queen cells they need to be placed in a queenless NUC/colony immediately.  Rain/shine/snow it doesn't matter. 

Advantage to buying queen cells.  they are super cheap as you see on Ebay.  100 of them for like $325.00.  Can you make 100 NUCS?

Disadvantage of buying queen cells:  You need to carefully plan this out.  If the producer doesnt pack them right the queens will die from the cold or be damaged from jarring around.  The queens you are buying still need to mate, so you are out a laying queen for 3 weeks.  You need to make sure you have adequate drone stock available and that the drone stock is what you want your colonies to be.

Some careful planning is needed for buying these queen cells.  I did notice that something on the ebay add stated the queens are AI.  Well that is not the case with the queen cells as this cannot happen until 3 days after they emerge.
God Bless all the troops
Semper Fi Marines!

Moonshae

#3
January 04, 2008, 02:42:52 PM
Quote from: BMAC on January 04, 2008, 12:06:09 PM
I did notice that something on the ebay add stated the queens are AI.  Well that is not the case with the queen cells as this cannot happen until 3 days after they emerge.

The description says that the breeder queens are II, presumably the queens used to produce the cells, not the queens in the cells you'd be buying.

I wouldn't have any use for 25 cells at a pop yet, unfortunately. But at $4 each, it's quite a bargain!
"The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with beer." - Egyptian Proverb, 2200 BC

rdy-b

#4
January 05, 2008, 06:30:47 PM
Cells are a great way to make splits -re-queen-or whatever -there are others that sell queen-cells but for pick up only -its about a three hour drive for me to go and get them-the big problem with what they are doing is the shipping of the cells to many problems with things going wrong -still i found this very interesting -i would not lay out the money for 100 or 50 cells -but they will sell some batches of 10 -just for the sake of experimentation on the shipping process -i find it interesting         RDY-B

Understudy

#5
January 05, 2008, 08:53:55 PM
Ebay Queen Cells

Okay, first off. You won't get them until March which probably is good. As it is to cold to get them sooner for people in the north.

AI queens are receiving mixed results with the a couple of our beekeepers down here. Outside of cost. They don't seem to live very long. Another beekeeper has had no problems in that regard but is not impressed with egg laying. None of our beekeepers bought the bees for sale on ebay.

The Hygenics traits are not a guarantee to be passed on to the next generation.

I would recommend getting your queens and queen cells from someone you have had contact with.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

The status is not quo. The world is a mess and I just need to rule it. Dr. Horrible

rdy-b

#6
January 05, 2008, 09:46:28 PM
THE breeder queens are AI -the cells will be whatever is available at your end-you would not want any other than a cell from a AI queen -(eliminates AHB on the queen line) the cells will be progeny from Minnesota hygienic -the line will be good -only problem is shipping-and will they hatch after the journey -if they could perfect a way to ship cells are queen prices would be at a round three-five bucks before shipping i find it odd they are being offered through shipment-they wont make there profit selling cells will they RDY-B
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