Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => EQUIPMENT USAGE, EXPERIMENTATION, HIVE PLANS, CONSTRUCTION TIPS AND TOOLS => Topic started by: CoolBees on May 01, 2020, 10:15:23 pm

Title: Questions about the Nicot system
Post by: CoolBees on May 01, 2020, 10:15:23 pm

I have some questions about the Nicot queen rearing system.

1 - is it ok to have some workers in the cage with the queen?
2 - the instructions (mannlake) said to move the queen in the
Egg laying contraption/system to another queenless hive - why? Why can't the queen lay in the cage in her own hive?

Any idea? ... thanks.

Title: Re: Questions about the Nicot system
Post by: BeeMaster2 on May 02, 2020, 12:04:07 am

Allen,
A worker in the cage should not bee a problem.
I have never heard to move the queen to a queen less hive.  I have a Nicot system. They are not the easiest System to make queens. Mainly because you put the Nicot cage in the hive for the workers to clean and the next day you have to go back into the hive and find the queen. Not always possible especially since you want to use your best queen, not the queens with a small hive.
Jim Altmiller

Title: Re: Questions about the Nicot system
Post by: CoolBees on May 02, 2020, 01:06:45 am

Thank you Jim. That's what I figured - the instructions didn't make sense to me.

I put the frame with cups in the hive Wednesday - after soaking it in sugar syrup, for the bees to polish. Today I pulled the queen and placed her in there. I just couldn't get the workers out - so I closed about 10 of them in with her. ... my first time with the Queen Catcher  :grin: :grin: :grin:

Title: Re: Questions about the Nicot system
Post by: Ben Framed on May 02, 2020, 12:56:37 pm

Alan I think you are confused. A cell starter is the place for a hopelessly queen-less hive, (where you remove the queen). This is where you remove the queen and add nurse bees at the proper timing.  Building a hive of readily, eager willing to produce, with an adequate supply of nurse bees able to fulfill you Nicot queen needs. This is where you place the bars of larva for the development of queen cells.

Phillip