# Using incubators for queen emergence



## Lauri (Feb 1, 2012)

Wow, that's terrible results. it's hard to guess what went wrong. What brand of incubator did you use? 
I don't use nurse bees in my cells, but can't see why that would be an issue.

Getting a thermometer that is accurate _is_ a challenge. I think your temp, although close was perhaps off too much. I have thermometers that very 8 degrees or more. They are horrible. The digital ones are best. 
In case you don't know, always start and bring your incubator to temp. several hours before placing you cells to stablize temp. Especially if it is an inexpensive foam type chicken incubator. 
My digital incubator comes up to temp in minutes, but I still monitor the interior temp. Difference between the top shelf and the bottom is 2 degrees. That's the difference in a hatch on time or a day early/late. Late hatches are poor. 
I run mine at 94 degrees, but that is +/- depending on the cell location and the accuracy of my unit.


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## Ben Little (Apr 9, 2012)

I was looking at the incubators and wondered if they are worth the money or not ? What brands do you recommend ?


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## Lauri (Feb 1, 2012)

Incubators go from cheap junk to several hundred dollars, with not many in between in a price/quality range I was looking for. Heres my first one, which worked just fine, but I wanted better quality and larger capacity:









Heres what I recently purchased for about $150. and I love it. I'd still like a larger one, but this will due for now. Reptile incubator Eko-Terra.

You can buy them off Ebay or Amazon:
http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/incubator.php


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## Broke-T (Jul 9, 2008)

I have a foam one like in Lauri's pics. I run it at 92 and hatch 50 to 60 virgins each week.

Johnny


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## WilliamsHoneyBees (Feb 17, 2010)

How long after a virgin emerges do you have to get them in a hive? I have loads of extra cells every week and have thought about starting an incubator but I don't know much about it. When you ship virgins are you putting attendants from a random hive in the cage or are you putting attendants on the outside of the cages? 

Thanks
Dan Williams


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## Broke-T (Jul 9, 2008)

Hi Dan. I like for them to be in a hive in 4 to 5 days. Mine hatch on Tuesday, ship on Wednesday and buyer has them on Thursday or Friday. I put 4 attendants in the cage with the Virgins. I catch them off a brood frame out of any hive available.

I use California mini cages to emerge virgins in. They have a bigger hole that accepts the cell better. The queen will need nourishment quickly, so I put a bb size piece of queen candy in the cage for her to eat on. This is especially important overnight. I check every cpl hours during day and pull the cell out and replace with candy tube as they emerge. They are bad to go back up into cell to eat the old royal jelly that is left over. A cpl times per day I take the ones that have emerged and carry them out to hive and add attendants. 

Sometimes I fill all cages with a piece of queen candy and add attendants first. Then I stick queen cell in hole so queen emerges into cage with attendants. You have to be fast to not let attendants out when swaping cell in and out.

Johnny


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## cklspencer (Jun 21, 2010)

I'm now using the same incubator and lauri. I satarted out with a chicken incubator and both work great.

I try and get my queen into a hive ASAP. I don't add workers to take care of the newly hatch queens. The two biggest things that kill the queen are starvation or they crawl back into their cell head first.


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## Lauri (Feb 1, 2012)

cklspencer said:


> . The two biggest things that kill the queen are starvation or they crawl back into their cell head first.


The top and bottom cap for the roller cages I use have four groves in them. Just right for taking a swipe with your finger on a frame of capped honey and filling the groves with feed-both honey and wax. As the queen emerges she has immediate access to the honey. Be sure to wipe off the face of the cap, only getting the honey_ in_ the grove or she will get sticky all over her wings. Works like a charm. 
The longest I have kept a virgin after hatching in the incubator is 3 days. The feed lasted that long, but I gave her a drop of water every day on top the cage. I had gotten a bit of paint on her wings so I was experimenting with her. I did a direct release in a mini nuc that had been queenless for 3 days. Immediate acceptance with no problems.


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

Thanks everyone for the input, it really helps me figure out what to change.

I just got a Thermo-Hygro distributed by Exo Terra, and installed its sensor near the old thermometer/hygrometer that was still inside the incubator, then I turned it back on and waited several hours. Both read almost the same temperature, 93.6F. However, their R.H. readings are somewhat different, but they both show readings over 50% R.H.

I believe I now know what the likely problem was. Before I placed my cells into the incubator, I turned it on and let it warm up, but it was still well over 95F as I was putting the cells inside, and it was more than an hour before my continued adjustments reduced my final setting to below 94F. I plan to continue adjusting the incubator, until the temperature is ~ 91F, before I try emerging any other cells inside it. And this time I won't rely on it for an entire batch of cells, until I have tested it with a few cells from several batches and it proves itself to be successful.


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

I run mine at 92 with a 1 degree dead band, which means that it is always between 91 and 92. Had great success with those settings.


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