# Queen cell in a split



## RonTgottagoat (Feb 27, 2014)

a couple weeks ago I was looking in my hives and had a lot of bees so I thought I’d take a couple frames and see if I could get em to make a queen. On July 1 I saw the marked queen on a frame. On Thursday the 5th I removed that frame with some nurse bees to the split I had made. I checked back last Monday July 9 and the bees had started a couple queen cups on that frame. This morning I was filling some feeders and popped open the. Split. One of the queen cells was big and capped . So according to my math I could potentially have a Virgin queen between Tuesday and Friday I guess depending on the larvae or egg they started with. That will be pretty cool if it works out. When I looked today I was not expecting to see I developed queen cell. In fact yesterday I was thinking seriously about just buying another queen but if this works out I won’t have to. I have plenty of drones around so I’m thinking a queen could get bred


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Yup pretty much how they do it when getting ready to swarm or are making a new queen to replace a failing queen when left alone.

I've raised so many queens I can just about tell when the cell is going to hatch by the coloring of the tip of the queen cell. 


 Al


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## ed/La (Feb 26, 2009)

Ron how many queen cells? Just the one. They often make a few or more if the box has enough resources. When plenty are there I carefully remove some and give to another split saving a few weeks and increasing chance of good mated queen. Sometimes I put the queen in the new split nuc and leave strong donor hive to make queen. You get more queen cells that way.


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## RonTgottagoat (Feb 27, 2014)

What color on the tip. It looked a little lighter than the rest of cell?


Ed I saw one finished cell for sure. Closed it back up. I’ll give u A call this afternoon. If there’s more than one you could have it


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## RonTgottagoat (Feb 27, 2014)

So I have an interesting update. I had started this nuc with bees from two hives. One was from Cordovan Italians the other was a frame of eggs from my sazakatraz queen in another hive I saw queen cells on the one frame but not on the frame from the cordovan hive I was watching the hive entrance at about 4:30 and saw a few bees landing then a large copper colored queen landed and went in. I looked this am and saw the two queen cells I was watching had been chewed into from the side. I looked again on the original frame of bees and saw a queencell I had missed. I think it hatched out and killed the other queen cells. I also noticed for the first time


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## RonTgottagoat (Feb 27, 2014)

Bees bringing in pollen this am this was the first I noticed this on this split. I have been told by several bee people that if bees are bringing in pollen they are raising brood. So that is promising I suppose. I couldn’t believe it when I saw that queen land, what are the chances of seeing that??? Cool beans


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I was cutting out swarm cells once and had queens hatching in my burr comb bucket. Pretty neat thing. slaped a lid on and got queen cages and put the new queens in them for making a few nuts.

 Al


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## RonTgottagoat (Feb 27, 2014)

I opened hive and saw queen. Ran grabbed my catcher and marking pen but lost her as I was trying to get last two bees out so I could try to mark her. I was a couple feet from hive. I’m hoping she flew back in. AlwYs an adventure lol


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Why were you going to mark her?

I have bought them marked and a week later could see any markings on her so I stopped paying to buy a marked queen.

After I started raiseing my own I never marked them either.


 Al


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## ed/La (Feb 26, 2009)

Ouch. That is how I learn, the school of hard knocks. I do not mark my queens either but considering doing it so I know how old queen are. Did she fly off? If she is gone you have a opportunity to make some sazakatraz queens.


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## RonTgottagoat (Feb 27, 2014)

I’m hoping she flew back in and not off but am not that sure. Fingers crossed. 

I was trying to mark her so I could find her easier and so I’d know how old etc I guess I goofed


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

If you keep good records you know how old the queen is. You also do not need to find her either. Just look for eggs and brood, you have a queen.

Decent pattern and a lot of brood you have a good queen, provided your not in a drought then the queen a good queen knows to back off on the brood rearing.

 Al


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## RonTgottagoat (Feb 27, 2014)

Ok Al what kind of stuff are you recording and how often? My hives are just a few so I know about them to an extent but what kind of stuff should be noted? Being new I’m just getting comfortable looking in the hives but I’ve not written anything down. But I could see where that would help overtime


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## RonTgottagoat (Feb 27, 2014)

I did see that they make a queen muff. It looks like it works like a sandblast cabinet with your hands keeping the queen contained even if it gets loose while marking her. I dunno if I’d try and mark a queen again but that may be a good tool to have in your kit if needed/wanted


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

A new hive is set up in a yard. A spiral note book is made for that yard and hive # 1 will be the one farthest left when walking up behind. So all new hives are addted to the right.

If it is a hive made from a Nuc the queen was raised by my grafting and I make a note of the hive she came from and know roughly her age and where she came from.

Every time the hive is opened a not to that effect is made in the book. How does the brood patteren look, is there a few or a lot of drone cells. If there is a honey super present make note of how full it is and turn back to the date it was put on and how quick they are filling it.

Drone cells that are capped get opened with a capping fork to check for mites. 










So many mites per drone cell (5) may induce me to pull the honey super off and do a Formic acid treatment.
date of treatment is noted in the book.

Also if the queen is seen how she looks.


 Al


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## ed/La (Feb 26, 2009)

I need to take better notes also. Now I write on hive the date, amount of brood, if I took or added any brood, weak or strong, date of split and things like that. I make queens out of strong hives but with time I loose track of where queen came from. Remembering for a day or two is no problem but after that I forget.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I have a couple of yards I use for queen rearing. One is where I place the nucs with the queen cells. About a mile away I have 6 colonies that I have 50% drone comb in each. those drones are allowed to hatch. as long as I have queens cells in nuc's to hatch. 

I am pretty sure my slected grafted queen cells come from the best colonies I have. Same with the drones they come from the best colonies I have. They are the best queens I can get from my stock.

 Al


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## RonTgottagoat (Feb 27, 2014)

Wow that’s cool how you have that set up al. How many hives do you have? I’m gonna get a notebook and try to start making notes on them

Ed I could see where which one of those hives came from would get confusing really fast when


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## RonTgottagoat (Feb 27, 2014)

I wrote that last night and forgot to post it


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

We have 24 at home, some in the front yard and some in the back yard. Nine out yards at the present time with 79 colonies.

One note book covers 2 yards. right side up front covers one yard, upside down back covers the other yard.

 Al


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## RonTgottagoat (Feb 27, 2014)

Checked back that queen returned home. We saw her Monday and eggs larvae etc

Also got a notebook # hives in a diagram made some dated notes on each hive


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