# drone nuc



## rmdial (Jun 30, 2009)

I am only a fourth year beekeeper so I am no expert. But our local beekeepers club suggests putting a drone frame (green) in an existing hive and let them draw out comb where the queen will lay unfertilized egg for drone. When that frame is drawn and laid full or almost full and before the 25th day of hatch, then remove the frame and put it into the freezer for a few days to kill the drone and mites. Then put the frame back into a hive where the workers will eat and clean out the cells. That provides protein and eliminates a hatch cycle of mites weakening the mite population so the bees have a better chance against them.

I think this is a pretty simple and effective method. I hope I was clear enough on the explanation. The important thing is to not let the cells hatch and release mites.

Good Luck,

Soapy


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## giant pumpkin peep (Mar 14, 2009)

I need the drones for ample queen mating. It would just be nice not to making a nicer spot for mites.


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## Box (Jul 30, 2010)

Hi there
The talk on our forums (Denmark) right now is 
wether the constant removal of drone comb
have made the mites prefer worker comb, because
we have removed all the mites that homed in on 
the drones , :scratch:I havent found one single mite i my
drone comb this year, going trough them after they
were frozen.

making a drone-hotel is a good idea I think , then you 
can treat with heat or acid or your prefered cure
during the honey flow


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## Kingfisher Apiaries (Jan 16, 2010)

I think GPP is trying to ask about using nucs for drone production. Larry Connor (i think) has talked about this in the past. Shoot him a email, he may or may not answer it, when I have talked with him via email this past week he said he is really busy. You can get his address at wicwas.com. 

Mike


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## giant pumpkin peep (Mar 14, 2009)

NO, im trying to see if anyone has put all their drone comb in one hive so you dont relase mites into whatever hive it came from. I would put of few frames of brood to keep em sustained, but that hive would be just to hatch out drones, so they dont hatch out in another hive, and cause issues.


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## BeeAware (Mar 24, 2007)

If you don't need the drones for queen mating, then why bother? Just remove the drone frames and destroy them.
I have removed drone frames and placed them in nucs located away from my apiary and allowed them to emerge so they would be available for queen mating. However, I would not want these drones infested with large amounts of mites. If they were they would not be good for mating purposes. I keep mite levels low so the drones are healthy.


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

Chris,

Yes. We have done that in the past. It works. The only two down sides are that:

1. If you end up with some serious mites in the hatch hive, you will have troubles getting healthy enough drones to flood the mating area.

2. By allowing the mites to spread in the hatch hive, you are ultimately going to have to fight them harder in your real hives. Remember, drones are accepted in any hive, so when ever they want, they can enter your other hives...with the mite on board...

Solutions:

1. Treat the hatch hive to kill the mites... don't use coumaphous in this hive though, fertility is the entire point...don't want to risk that... even if you are treatment free for honey production, this hive is simply to hatch drones, just don't extract from it... keep it queenless and eggless as long as you can... then introduce a virgin in fall (give her time to mate and lay it up enough for winter), that way you can use the same equipment the next year.

2. Start all of your stock with resistant stock... this is the best approach.

3. Treat, but time it just right so that your treatment period has ended before you begin grafting.

Hope this helps!


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## giant pumpkin peep (Mar 14, 2009)

Thanks russel,im thinking I would just hit the hatch hive with formic. I don't like treating. This will be my first year raising queens, and I can't wait! I think a lot of queens go bad becuase of poor mating. So I want to have many more drone than I would ever need. I want the queen to mated to the fulest potential. The drone mothers will be local stock. Queen mothers will be for my overwintering nucs. I plan on raising queens at my house, and everything else is gonna be at a outyard.


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

Chris, 

You will do well. I can already see the wheels turning... My best advice is to study, study, study... not the books, but the bees... every location is different, every stain is different... you are the only constant... the more you understand YOUR bees, the more you can produce from them.

Keep thinking ahead in both genetics and operation, and be ready to adapt if you need to... one of the hardest learned lessons is when an idea fails and you have devoted too many resources to it...

Good Luck! I will be happy to help if you have any questions... if there are mistakes to be made, we have made them, so hopefully I can help you avoid a few pitfalls.


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## giant pumpkin peep (Mar 14, 2009)

when I get thinking about bees, man, do I get thinking. The way figure the queen will mate with up to 20 drones. So if I raise 30 queens,thats 600 drones. When I put drones out there, how many are gonna get scooped up by a bird, and die before their time or what. I want to have 30 or 40 drone waitin for her when she goes on her flights. I think thats the big problem with some southern queens. I havn't had a bad expeirience yet. And I ordered some queens from you russel, for the spring,so dont end the trend!  I hope to go into winter with 15 hives and atleast 20 nucs, and breed from whatever survives. Although bees will trump even the best made plans. :doh: A few years of that then I'll think about selling queens. I don't put my name on junk or a unsure product. Sure,i'll give queens to friends. I have a feeling next year is going to fun, and thats what beeking is about.


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## heaflaw (Feb 26, 2007)

You guys touched on a question I have. How important is it to have drones coming from an outlying yard from where you will raise queens? How far away?


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## Kingfisher Apiaries (Jan 16, 2010)

I am running all hygienic stock for my drones. I may have some overloads but I have had drone comb in various hives and it did not hurt them. 
My plans are to scatter 10 hives around my 12 acres, and that will be my drone supply for about 30-40 nucs. 

mike


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## Velbert (Mar 19, 2006)

The drones have a congerating area close to their colonie.

they will use the same area year after year so you will need to place your drone colonies no closer than 1 mile from your maiting yard I like to have them from 1 mile up to 3 miles from maiting yard in different directions.

The queen will just by pass the congerating area that is from your drone congerating area if the drone hives are in the same yard as your mating nuc. There could be a few that might mate with them if they are the only drones in the area.


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## giant pumpkin peep (Mar 14, 2009)

I dont know. Will the outlying drone colonies really bee necasairy? I live in a very residential area. To the north is rich neighborhood,whereyou can't have anything. I have a place to the south where I can put bees, but to the east and west, I dont know.


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## heaflaw (Feb 26, 2007)

Velbert said:


> The drones have a congerating area close to their colonie.
> 
> they will use the same area year after year so you will need to place your drone colonies no closer than 1 mile from your maiting yard I like to have them from 1 mile up to 3 miles from maiting yard in different directions.
> 
> The queen will just by pass the congerating area that is from your drone congerating area if the drone hives are in the same yard as your mating nuc. There could be a few that might mate with them if they are the only drones in the area.


So, the queen travels much further than the drones to mate?


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## Velbert (Mar 19, 2006)

Yes

if the drone hives are in the same yard as your mating nuc.


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

I have never seen this sort of issue... our drone colonies are always within a few hundred yards of the mating nucs... been that way since the 1800's and have never had queens pass them up.

Queens will travel farther than drones... but if the area is saturated, they will not travel as far... drones meet up in areas and queens go to these areas to breed.


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## beekuk (Dec 31, 2008)

I have never had any problems with mating nuc's within the main apairys either.

Some imformation about drone congregation area's, and the distances they will fly, in the link below.
http://www.montybees.org.uk/content/drone-congregation-areas


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

There seems to be a lot of questions about drone colony placement lately. So I am posting here to bring this thread back to the top of the list.

Hope it helps!


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## G B (Nov 6, 2009)

Thanks very much Beekuk and Russell, for this info. i have had many questions about number and placement of drone colonies... thanks again George.


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## rrussell6870 (May 14, 2009)

You are very welome. Hope it helps!


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