Königinnenzucht im weiselrichtigen Volk Teil 1

Step by step, we will show how to prepare a starter colony with an active queen for rearing the newly larvae. In principle, queens should only be reared at the peak of their colony development under the most favorable conditions. This is when the maximum strength rests in each queen cell. 1. We have selected a strong, queenright colony with one honey super and one or two brood chambers. The honey super is separated from the brood chamber by a queen excluder. 8-10 days before the start of breeding, 2-4 brood frames with open brood are hung high in the center of the honey super. 2. After 8-10 days, only capped brood will be found on the 2-4 brood frames in the honey super. The hung frames should be checked for any queen cells. 1-2 hours before the time of newly larvae, another frame is removed from the honey super, and an empty comb lane is created between the brood frames. In addition, a bee-proof screen is placed on the queen excluder. The bees are not provided with an additional entrance. This procedure suddenly completely isolates all the bees in the upper honey chamber and separates them from the rest of the colony. 3. After a 1-2 hour wait, a queen bee restlessness develops in the honey chamber. After this time, the breeding frame with the newly hatched larvae is hung in the prepared comb row. The bee-proof screen initially remains in the colony. 4. 24 hours later, the bee-proof screen is removed. This restores the colony to its original state, and the bees in the honey chamber can descend unhindered. The queen excluder remains between the honey chamber and the brood chamber. In addition, one of the two capped brood frames next to the breeding frame is removed and replaced with a frame with open brood. This ensures better care for the queens in the breeding frame. 5. We remove the untreated cups from the breeding frame. However, we place the queen cells together in the center of the breeding frame for better temperature distribution. If more than 10 cells are being accepted, it is recommended to divide them between the honey supers of several colonies. However, here too, it is important to ensure that the honey super is separated by a queen excluder and that the breeding frame is always hung between at least two brood frames, regardless of whether they contain open or capped brood. However, individual nucs can also be formed with these capped cells. 6. The queen cells are caged either shortly after capping, i.e. on day 10, or two days before hatching, i.e. on day 14, so that the queens can no longer sting each other.