# How long before inserting your queen cell do you make up your mating nuc?



## beesohappy (Jun 3, 2009)

I make up the splits the day before and place the cells on the next day. From my understanding it gives them time to realize their queenless and they except the cell with no problem. I have seen them starting to make cells as soon as the next day before I could put the cells in. This makes me think that either way would work out.


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## Honey-4-All (Dec 19, 2008)

In broodles mating nucs its about 5 seconds.

Slam and jam......... on to the next one!!


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## kilocharlie (Dec 27, 2010)

I make the nuc's up on the trailer right after taking a peek to see how many to make up, and 24 hours before adding queen cells. I close them in with #8 hardware cloth doubled over, and a ventilated travel top.

I add 2 queen cells per nuc, checking them behind a bright light to be sure there is a live queen inside. Then I move them 10 miles away into a good wildflower set for one month. The mating yard has lots of drone colonies nearby - like 1/2 to 1 and 1/4 miles (up to 2 km). 10 days later, I check for eggs, at 45 days after the breeder queen laid the egg, I check for brood pattern.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>I have read that some put the queen cell in as soon as the bees, pollen, and nectar are inserted and I have read that some make it up 24 hours ahead. What do you do and why?

It depends on my schedule. If I get time I do them 24 hours ahead. If I don't get time I do them at the same time.

"MY METHOD OF FORMING NUCLEI AND INSERTING QUEEN CELLS.
"With the nucleus hives, a few spare combs, and provided with some long pins, I go to a hive, and without troubling to look for the queen-except merely to glance over the combs as I take them out-I insert the cells as quickly as possible. Instead of taking the time to fit them nicely, I give a hasty look at the cell, cut a hole in the comb I think will suit, put in the cell and fasten it there by running two pins through the base of it into the comb, one each way-sometimes one is sufficient. Advantage may be taken of a depression in the comb and so save cutting a hole. In this way I can insert the cells and form the nuclei in a very short time. If the queen should be seen during the operation, she is placed with the frame she is on to one side until all is finished, when she is put back into the hive after contracting it with division boards, if necessary. Should she not be seen it only means the loss of one queen cell, which is more than made up for by the time saved in not waiting to find her. I have often spent a considerable time looking for the queen in a strong colony and then perhaps had to give it up. Professor Cook recommends inserting the queen cells twenty-four hours after the nuclei are formed, but says: "We may do it sooner but always at the risk of having the cell destroyed." I very rarely find one destroyed, and I think the risk likely to be greater when time is allowed for the bees to commence building cells before giving them one. Occasionally it happens that a nucleus colony will not accept a queen cell even when it has been queenless for some little time. When this occurs a cell should be protected in a cage when placed in the hive until the queen emerges, when there is likely to be no further trouble."--Isaac Hopkins, The Autralasian Bee Manual, 1886 edition

http://www.bushfarms.com/beeshopkins1886.htm#mymethod


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## My-smokepole (Apr 14, 2008)

Make up nuc move to next yard. Then add cell. 
David


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## johng (Nov 24, 2009)

I always do it like Honey4all. I put them in right away it takes too much time to come back and do it the next day. If I will be moving the nucs to another yard I will wait until I get the nucs to the new yard before adding the cells.


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## jonathan (Nov 3, 2009)

I put the cells in right away. Bees know they are queenless in about 10 minutes after separating them from a queen.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Can you put them in right away? Sure, but we prefer to move them to a new location, allow them to fly for a full day then put cells in the next day. Bees may or
may not stay where you put them and this allows us to do some switching and even out the populations as needed at a time when you don't have to worry about where the queen may be.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

From a hobbyist standpoint, made up the nuc in the morning and qcs intro in the evening.
Wait 24 hrs later they will bee making their own qcs if there are eggs/larvae on the frames. They are more
protective of the cells that they made.
On a nuc shaken with young nurse bees I don't see a problem with a fast cell introduction right there.


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## Alexander co (Dec 6, 2013)

Dave Cushman site and others, recomends two to 24 hours. His option is 8 hours. In 24 the bees can start raising Q C. So induce the Q less in the morning and introduce the QC in the afternon, as beepro says. Straight away with protection.


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## Matt903 (Apr 8, 2013)

I have my cell builder in one yard, and I makes up my mating nucs in another yard. I make the nucs, drive them to where the cell builder is located, and then put in the cells. The cell builder yard then becomes the mating nuc yard. It takes around two or three hours before I put in the cell. I have not had one torn done yet, but there is always a first.


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

jim lyon said:


> Can you put them in right away? Sure, but we prefer to move them to a new location, allow them to fly for a full day then put cells in the next day. Bees may or
> may not stay where you put them and this allows us to do some switching and even out the populations as needed at a time when you don't have to worry about where the queen may be.


So you are saying that the timing is more about making it easier to adjust the populations than about cell acceptance? That's probably the best answer I've heard to this recurring question.

My limited experience has been that getting the mating nuc population right has more to do with success than almost anything else - And being stingy about it is counter-productive.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

David LaFerney said:


> So you are saying that the timing is more about making it easier to adjust the populations than about cell acceptance? That's probably the best answer I've heard to this recurring question.
> 
> My limited experience has been that getting the mating nuc population right has more to do with success than almost anything else - And being stingy about it is counter-productive.


That's my belief as well. That short window when they are queenless is about the only time you can really move bees around and switch hives at will. It seems like oversized nucs at times get a mind of their own and want to raise their own cells regardless of what you do and small nucs are at a real disadvantage and routinely catch poorly as they have to be able to both fend off robbers and still carry on any routine foraging activity. So, if only for those reasons, getting some uniformity in size to in your nucs is crucial to success. I kind of like to see the beginnings of some newly raised cells when installing my own cells. I figure the virgin from my cell will take care of them and if she doesn't that gives the hive a backup plan.


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