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Author Topic: Grafting Season  (Read 1283 times)

Online Ben Framed

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Grafting Season
« on: June 17, 2020, 04:00:44 pm »
I realize that grafting season or times will most likely depend on the location of the beekeeper to a certain degree. I will keep your location in mind if you are generous enough to enlighten me on the following question. For you, your operation, and your location. When do you generally taper off and eventually stop raising queens each season? Thanks again in advance.
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline TheHoneyPump

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Re: Grafting Season
« Reply #1 on: June 17, 2020, 04:27:54 pm »
Stop grafting 10 weeks before the main season flow stops and fall begins.  Reason, best performance and survivability to have the new queens to be well along into their third brood cycle before transitioning into fall/winter mode.  Regional climate dictates the calendar.  For me, my final graft was last Saturday, 13th of June - an that was a week later than it should be.
When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.

Online Ben Framed

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Re: Grafting Season
« Reply #2 on: June 17, 2020, 05:02:42 pm »
Thanks Mr HP
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline van from Arkansas

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Re: Grafting Season
« Reply #3 on: June 18, 2020, 02:06:05 pm »
Phil, what HP said plus I?ll add:  I grafted late last August, during a dearth just a few larva and the bees had no problem accepting larva and making successful queens. One queen  named Thelma, for fun, last September if you remember the thread?  This queen is thriving to this day.  Now I don?t recommend raising queens during a dearth, and late in season, but Grafting will work.

I believe as long as there are nurse bees, stores and warmth, my bees will make a queen if I ask.  Quantity is definitely positively affected by a flow or the opposite negatively during a dearth.  Quality is affected by age of larva chosen and amount of nurse bees to produce royal jelly.

Then, of course, there needs to be mature drones.  Late winter of 2020, I did see drones upon first inspections?  As there was no brood in most of the hives,I believe these drones were wintered over.  This apparently is very rare, at least the my eyes.  I would like to hear if other beeks have seen over wintered drones?

Van
I have been around bees a long time, since birth.  I am a hobbyist so my answers often reflect this fact.  I concentrate on genetics, raise my own queens by wet graft, nicot, with natural or II breeding.  I do not sell queens, I will give queens  for free but no shipping.

Offline Nock

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Re: Grafting Season
« Reply #4 on: June 18, 2020, 02:38:31 pm »
They were dragging drones out of one of mine yesterday.

Online Ben Framed

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Re: Grafting Season
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2020, 12:47:16 am »
Thank you Mr Van, yes now that you have reminded me I do remember! Thelma lol. Good information Mr Van.

Phillip
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Online Ben Framed

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Re: Grafting Season
« Reply #6 on: June 19, 2020, 01:05:43 am »
They were dragging drones out of one of mine yesterday.

Last winter I had drones really late. Alan, Cool bees had queens on the 21 of December if I remember correctly, at his place in Norther California. There had to be a few drones for these queens or queen to mate. Oldbeavo also commented about that time of conversation, about late drones being a good sign, if again, I remember correctly. Mr HP is a much bigger operator than most and he is on an efficiently timeline, a fine tuned schedule, he must make decisions which are benefiting full efficiency, Which I understand and appreciate, where hobbyist decisions are not nearly as curtail. Myself, a hobbyist, can fudge on timelines and still hopefully achieve what I hope to achieve. At the same time taking notes of what have to say, form a large outfits point of view. I appreciate each comment.  Mr Vans comment is a great help to me as I am not a commercial beekeeper as of yet, and do not know if I will ever pursue such aspirations. But if I do, I have Mr HPs, Oldbeavos, and other bigger operators notes. Thanks all for your post, hobbyist as well as commercial.

Phillip
 
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.