# Learning curve on queen production



## Brandy (Dec 3, 2005)

*Queens*

You don't say who you introduced to your nuc's but unless you leave them locked up with syrup for 3 day's or so there is not much there to keep your population. If you transfered comb, brood and adhering bee's I don't think they would have absonded. Your right, there is a learning curve. All the ways to fail and then you succeed!!!


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## buz (Dec 8, 2005)

*Who's learning?*

Guess the genetic odds are great--Cordovan or not. Glad you have the patience..............Say hello to your wife.
Tom


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## lake thompson honey (Feb 11, 2007)

Yes you have to leave them locked up for at least three days until the new queen gets her phermones. You might as well restock. They are not returning.


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

*Learning to breed queens*

My breeder queen is an open mated Cordovan Italian. Of course all of her drones are Cordovan, and most of her workers, and hence queen offspring are Cordovan also. My first attempt to produce more Cordovan queens from this breeder queen were, 1::6, one Cordovan queen and five that are only half Cordovan (so they don't appear Cordovan). The majority of the queens in my other colonies are decendants of Cordovan Italian mother queens, some produce a varying percentage of Cordovan drones, some even produce a small percentage of Cordovan workers. My breeder queen is currently producing approximately 75% or better Cordovan workers (queens), so I am disappointed that my first attempt had worse odds than expected. And on top of that, my only Cordovan queen from my first run, has run off. 

For better clarification these are homemade mini polystyrene mating nucs, thanks to Jon McKenna for the details of construction.


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

*I plan to use larger nucs*

It appears that my mini mating nucs like to leave with the virgin on her mating flight. Another nuc is empty this morning - yesterday I gave them a frame of open brood, it didn't matter.

I have a large quantity of medium depth supers, unassembled. I have been cutting down the ends and re-cutting the box joints so they become 13-3/4" wide (8-frame) supers and moving my colonies from 10-frame supers to the 8-frame. Now I shall cut a dado on each end of some of the old supers and partition them into dual 5-frame nucs for queen production.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I'm having very good luck with two frame medium depth nucs. Bigger than a mini but big enough to do pretty well and take standard resources (frames from other hives). Five frames will work fine if you have the resources to stock them.


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## peggjam (Mar 4, 2005)

I took some ten frame boxes and put in dividers to make 4 2 frame mating nucs. I stock these with one frame of sealed brood and adhering bees, and an extra frame shook in if needed. I haven't had any take off......yet. I also use full five frame nucs, which work even better, but eat up alot of resources in a quick hurry .


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## Albert (Nov 12, 2006)

Peggjam,

I have another post asking questions about nucs and queen cells.

Obviously you put the queen cell between the honey frame and the sealed brood. 

At what point do you add frames and at what rate. Drawn comb, honey, or something else?

Do you feed? and if so what?

Thanks,
Albert


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## peggjam (Mar 4, 2005)

I don't feed because I put in a frame of honey, when that runs out I will give them another one in the place of the empty. If I really like what I see with the mating nuc, I will move them to a bigger box and restock the mating nuc with fresh frames of brood and bees. 

I usually let the queen lay for awhile after mating, which also helps restock the mating nuc. It usually doesn't take very long for her to fill the empty cells on the brood frame. And it also gives you a good feel for the quaility of the queen .


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## Jeffzhear (Dec 2, 2006)

Peggjam, 
You are in Western NY with a climate similar to mine. Do you have a typical timeline that you follow and if so would you be willing to share it? This is based upon the presumption that you are producing nucs and queens in the North. Maybe I am wrong. In any event, I would be interested to know (at a top level) what you are doing and when you do it.


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