I want to mark my new queens

Michael Bush · April 14, 2007, 01:19:54 PM

>So, the same basic principle could work with an observation hive right? I plan to make my own observation hive this weekend. If I just let the bees draw comb and then every so often remove a frame of brood and put it in a hive and replace the frame with foundation...that should keep them small. Do I have this right?

Basically, yes. The only catch is that the field bees keep going back to the old hive so it's hard to cut the population down quickly by just taking brood combs. That cuts it down eventually. Therefore, you need to plan ahead to keep the population under control, without doing too much.

In case you're not following me, you take a frame of brood and bees and put it in another hive. The nurse bees stay. The brood, of course is now gone from the nuc or observation hive, but the field bees will fly back home. This makes it a little harder than you'd think at first to keep a constant population. But basically as long as you keep stealing brood at the appropriate speed, you can keep the population reasonably stable.

ChickenWing · April 29, 2007, 08:15:56 PM

Does anyone have a photo of this queen muff? I'm trying to picture it, and I don't think I've got it. :-D

Michael Bush · April 29, 2007, 08:28:04 PM

There is a picture in their paper catalog.

ChickenWing · April 29, 2007, 09:38:06 PM

I don't have the catalog. Does anyone have one they have taken a photo of?

ZuniBee · April 30, 2007, 09:20:54 AM

Here you go!

http://www.zunibeefarms.com/images/queenmuff.jpg

http://www.zunibeefarms.com/images/queenmuff1.jpg

Each side has elastic to go around your wrist. You put your marker and any other tools you want in the queen muff then put the queen gage in it then when you put your hands in from each side you can work the queen and she can't fly away.

Sounded real good unitl I looked in the queen cage and saw 6 or 7 workers with her!

Understudy · April 30, 2007, 10:05:01 AM

Thanks for the pictures Zunibee.

And just look at those workers as practice. Okay so maybe they sting if you try to color them.

;)

Sincerley,
Brendhan

TwT · April 30, 2007, 10:29:47 AM

all i do is grab the queen by the wings when shes on the comb then while holding her i put my pointer fingure under her and let her grab my fingure, and when she grabs my fingure i get my thumb and hold her by one side of her legs then mark her.... you grab her just like you are putting her in a queen cage, same as the attendants with her ;) , just reach down and gently catch by the wings, it would be good to practice on drones, i never did first bee i ever grabed was a queen ant then 6 attenant with her, got some friends that sale alot of queens and i was helping them and they said "i needed to learn so look in this nuc and load the queen and 6 attendants", now i am confortable with it.....