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Author Topic: Banking Queens - how to  (Read 5797 times)

Offline TheHoneyPump

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Banking Queens - how to
« on: May 09, 2021, 02:27:27 am »
Here is a topic of varied methods and varied successes.
What is your way of banking queens? 
How long do you usually bank them?
How about the longest banked time?
When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.

Offline Ben Framed

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Re: Banking Queens - how to
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2021, 03:26:29 am »
Good topic....

Offline TheHoneyPump

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Banking Queens - how to
« Reply #2 on: May 10, 2021, 09:21:58 pm »
In a double deep. 
Above a queen excluder of a queen-rite colony that has fresh emerging brood frames below (nurse bees).  Cages are set in a holding frame. A frame of open brood is placed in one side. A frame of pollen and open nectar is placed on the other side.
Before placing the cage frame into the hive spray down the nearby frames and bees with mix of sugar syrup and honeyBhealthy. Do not spray the queens or caged. The smell confuses everyone and averts any initial agressions to the queen cages. 
Bank for days, weeks, months.  In fair weather.  Fall/winter banking is a whole different ball game.
When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.

Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Banking Queens - how to
« Reply #3 on: July 12, 2022, 09:16:52 am »
I set up a queenless hive (one eight frame medium box) with room for a banking frame that holds over a hundred JZBZ cages if I want.  The secret is to catch all the queens the same day and put them all in at the same time.  Don't ever add more queens later as the newer queens will have more pheromones and the bees will kill off the older queens.  The bees eventually raise a queen from the brood they have from when I set them up.  So far I haven't had them kill the cages queens, but I catch the new queen as soon as I see her (which is usually after she's laid up a lot of brood).  I have banked them for as long as 7 months and they still made great queens.  I did this experiment expecting that the quality would fall off in time, but it did not.  What matters is how SOON you bank them not how LONG you bank them.

I have banked them into winter a ways, but never all winter.  I have not succeeded in that yet.  But I keep experimenting with it.  I got them through to December once and then sold them in a warm spell to someone in Texas.
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
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"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

Offline Bill Murray

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Re: Banking Queens - how to
« Reply #4 on: July 18, 2022, 07:25:21 pm »
Michael, how long do you let them lay before banking 2 weeks?, or longer?

Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Banking Queens - how to
« Reply #5 on: July 19, 2022, 06:50:34 am »
At least two weeks.  3 would be slightly better, but any less than 2 is unacceptable.  There are studies showing that less than 2 weeks will lead to poor acceptance, frequent supersedures and short longevity for the queens.  A different study showed that their Ovarioles never get fully developed if banked before 2 weeks.
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
-------------------
"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

 

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