It says 404, that page doesn't exist.

@@josephdouglas4214 Hi Joseph We made some changes and might have missed something. Can you please tell me what you clicked on to get the error 404 message. If it is our FAQ link, we have fixed it already but I have to check and make sure we changed the link on every video. Thanks.

@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre I the link suggested. Maybe you could post the new link to FAQS here? Thanks.

hbrc.ca/faq/

Thanks Joseph

Glad you like it! Thanks Scott.

in nucs hive have enough drone population to mated virgin queen? how it possible ?

@@prabhuthapa7942 it’s not how many drones are in the mini nuc but how many would be in that general area that makes it work. There would be lots in that area.

Thanks John To each his own... We are encouraged by the positive feedback and can overlook the negative. Cheers!

The thing to not like is you're starting a queen then have her but nothing else. If you use a queen castle building up a colony from scratch is easier because it has full size frames. Getting from mini nuc to full size equipment is not so simple with mini size stuff

Hi James and Denise You are very welcome. Thanks for your encouraging feedback!

Thanks 👍

Thanks Steve!

Thanks Linton. Have a great day!

I agree 100% about getting young folks involved! Thanks for your good thoughts.

Fun to do too Tina! That why I get that job :)

Me too like beekeeping and also Art making ceramic, mosaic,painting in this way feeling very happy

:(

The downside of beekeeping :(

You are very welcome Alan. Go bees!

Thanks Craig See our 4 way video too for another mating nuc option.

Thanks Paul!

Hi Peter Great to hear from you in France! Thanks for the encouraging comments.

You are welcome Helen. I'm glad you found it helpful.

Thank you Shelley!

Thanks Bret!

Thanks Yoni Good to hear you found the information you needed.

Thanks dfishman!

Thanks!

You're very welcome!

Thanks Gajbir!

Thanks!

Timothy... The Colours are different so Queens orientate back to their own 'coloured box' after flying out and back from their Mating Flight ! See how they set same Colours away from each other. 👀 Just use traditional Water based House Paint. Here in the UK, it's called Emulsion Paint (latex based) Don't use Oil* based Paint on Poly Boxes !!! Tip : Often DIY Paint areas mix Colours, that Customers change their minds (!?!) And these get Sold in a Clearance Corner. So bag a £$€ bargain. 😏 * Unless you make your own Mini Mating Nucs using Scrap Timber. Do allow the Oil based Paint Fumes to cleatr before adding those Cups of Bees, and your Queen Cell. 👍 Happy Beekeeping 2022 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

Hi there Gid's Bal in the Philipines! There are many good suppliers of queens. I hope you can find one closer to you. All the best.

Thanks Vincent Very few bees drown in the syrup. The walls of the feeder are easy from them to grip. No we don't use a float. If it were worse I'd use a bit of straw.

Hi David Nice to hear you enjoy our videos. 21 more coming soon. That is a bit of a conundrum. What we've settled on lately is taking the last round of queens out in late August early September. Waiting 3 weeks for the brood to emerge and then shaking them all out on the ground in front of a queen right full size hive At this point there will be virgins in some of the nucs so we check back on the colony to make sure the queen in the hive is ok.

Hi Carl We don't export to the US but our Buckfast partners noted on the following link do some exports. www.uoguelph.ca/honeybee/breeding-purchase-queens.shtml

Hi Nicki You could do that but only with older queen cells as they are easily damaged. I'd suggest you watch our videos 'Handling queen cells' and 'why but queens' for some more thoughts.

Hi Bob Thanks for the note.You are right to say that emerging is the correct term. I'm not too fussy about terms. I'm happy if the ideas are understood.

Hi DJ I make the seats and sell a few but don't ship them. If you send me an email at pgkelly@uoguelph.ca I can send you the plans. Nice to hear you find the videos inspirational! Thanks for the encouragement. We are filming 25 more over the summer.

You are welcome Stewart!

Hi Jimmy Very kind of you to say that! 1. Taking that many nurse bees causes the older bees to revert to feeding larvae. There are alo of other bees in the supers and out foraging so this slows the colony down a bit but the bounce back soon after. 2. When I mentioned switching frames it was to give a queenless nuc some eggs and brood from a queen right nuc. When doing this we routinely move the frame with the pheromone on it to the other colony and vice versa. There isn't full depth in the box next to the entrance so the frame that sits there is short and a taller frame wouldn't fit in this spot. Hope that makes sense to you. We know the frame with the pheromone strip is a taller frame so its easy to keep track of.

@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre thank you for the reply. I understand now. You all do amazing work!

Hi Ryszard You are very welcome.Thanks for you generous feedback! We put a small strip of foundation in for a few reasons. It stays on securely, gives more room for dumping bees in the bottom and it lets the bees build the comb straight down . A long sheet would move around more since it can't be attached at the bottom.

You are very welcome Anil.

HI There We use a half strip in the nucs and leave them in place for the summer. It dissipates fairly quickly so it doesn't stop bees from raising their own queen if necessary later in the summer. We remove the queens two week after the cells are introduced so we can't always tell if they are laying drone or worker eggs. I havn't noticed that this is problematic. Great to hear you find the videos helpful.

Thanks Mike! I made the bulk bee box and funnel. Send me an email at pgkelly@uoguelph.ca and I can send you some pictures. I haven't made up any plans.

@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre I'd love to see that a well 😊

UoG Honey Bee Research Centre Hi William I made the bulk bee box and funnel. Send me an email at pgkelly@uoguelph.ca and I can send you some pictures. I haven't made up any plans.

@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre Paul, I thought I'd sent you a message 6 days ago. Regarding your little chair and the bulk bee box. Perhaps it got lost 😇

Hi Sea Pro Thanks for your generous comments! You can see our queen cell bases a bit more clearly in our grafting video. Please also see #17 in our frequently asked question list below. I prefer the wax cups and wooden cell bases over plastic but most of my queen rearing friends use the plastic ones as they are convenient. The wooden base provides a good handle and a solid way to hang the cells between frame top bars.I got the idea from a mentor, Barry Davies. 1. Why do we use canvas for the hive inner cover? A: We use canvas inner covers for a few reasons. They make it easy to take a quick peek in the hive, and are cheap and easy to make. They are light, the lids sit down well, less excess wax on the frame top bars, and we rarely need to scrape the inner cover. We use 18 oz (#8) canvas -otherwise known as duck. It's a bit hard to come by in Ontario, but it is available from online distributors (US: www.bigduckcanvas.com/number-8-18oz-cotton-duck-canvas.html, Canada www.jtsoutdoorfabrics.com/18oz-Cotton-Duck-Canvas-Untreated--Natural-60_p_15038.html). Bees chew through thin canvas so a heavy weight is better. We flip it over periodically when new so the bees thoroughly coat it with propolis. An alternative is a feedbag folded in half. 2. Why do we use single brood chambers? A: Our preference is to keep hives in single brood chambers. We use queen excluders above the brood chamber and then add supers. We produce bigger crops managing our hives in singles vs doubles and we find the hive management much easier. It's become quite common here, especially over the last twenty years. We will be making a video about single brood chambers soon! 3. Are our queens for sale? A: We sell some queens but don't export. To contact us about our queens, please email us at infohbrc@uoguelph.ca. Our Buckfast collaborators also sell queens: Munro Honey www.munrohoney.com/ (for CAN sales) and Ferguson Apiaries fergusonapiaries.on.ca/ (for CAN and US sales). . 4. What breed of honeybee do we use? A: We work with Buckfast bees. Check out our website if you would like to learn more about them: www.uoguelph.ca/honeybee/breeding.shtml 5. Will we be making any more videos? A: Yes! We are looking forward to creating more videos for our KZfaq channel this year! Here are some of the topics we will be covering: Working with single brood chambers, indoor overwintering. 6.How do you overwinter double nucleus colonies? A: At the University of Guelph, we winter our double nucleus colonies indoors. You can also winter them outdoors by wrapping two double nucs together with insulation on the sides and top. 7. Are double nucleus colonies prone to swarming? A: With a young queen and the supers above we don't have any problem with these nucs swarming in the first year. We do have to transfer them into a full size box early enough the following spring to prevent swarming. 8. Do we add a frame of pollen or honey into a new split? A: Ideally you add both pollen and honey. Of the two, honey is the most important. 9. Where to purchase some of the products that we use: Coveralls: We really like these Dickies all cotton coveralls. www.dickies.com/coveralls-overalls/deluxe-cotton-coverall/48700.html?dwvar_48700_color=GY#start=3. We use two sided velcro to strap up the wrists and usually tuck the legs into our socks. Plastic Queen cages: Mann Lake and their Canadian distributors sell these and they are made by the French company Nicot. www.mannlakeltd.com/hair-roller-cages. I use a wooden plug on the bottom and screw it in place with a #4 screw after pre drilling. Grafting microscope: www.amscope.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=gooseneck+binocular Mini/mating nucleus boxes: Mann Lake (US) and their Canadian distributors sell these. They are originally from Europe so are widely available there. www.mannlakeltd.com/shop-all-categories/hive-colony-maintenance/queen-rearing/nuc-boxes Queen Pheromone: The pheromone strips were developed here in Canada. They are called Tempqueen and are made by Intko Supply Ltd.Suite 604, 3345 Kingsway VANCOUVER, BC, V5R 0A7 Canada +1 (604) 356-7393. pheromonesupply@gmail.com. Mann Lake in the US and several Canadian bee supply companies carry them. Bee belt and bulk bee box: Our apiary manager Paul Kelly manufactures the Bee Belts and bulk bee box. If you are interested in more information, please email him at pgkelly48@gmail.com. 10. Should you remove any queen cells in a colony before introducing a new queen in a cage? A: Yes, you should remove the queen cells. Look very carefully to make sure you don't miss one. Shake the bees off each frame to make sure you can see them all. Accepted queens are sometimes killed by virgins that emerge from queen cells. 11. Can you make a split without adding a mated queen/can a split raise their own queen? A: A split can raise their own queen (if they have eggs), but you'd be better off buying a mated or queen cell from a local bee breeder. Queens raised by a split are reared under the worst possible conditions, are physiologically inferior, and you aren't taking the opportunity to improve your hive genetics. For a number of reasons, colonies get more aggressive if we let splits raise their own queens. We always use queen cells that we have reared from breeder colonies so we can maintain and improve our genetics. Cells found in hives can be poorly reared if conditions aren't good or if you use swarm cells you are unintentionally breeding for swarming behavior. 12. How often do we check for swarm cells? A: We check for queen cells only in colonies that are stronger based on our ratings as described in our “Swarm Control” video. We only do this at the time of year bees are prone to swarming (ie just before the main summer nectar flow). In some colonies, we check twice, a week apart, if we have the time and we've found cells in them previously. We stop looking once the nectar flow gets going and the time for swarm preparation has passed. 13. How old is a queen when we replace her? A: We re-queen if a queen isn't doing well or when she is in her third year. 14. How often should you be stung to lessen the chances of developing anaphylactic reactions? A: Please speak with an allergist if you have any concerns regarding bee sting reactions. You don’t need that many stings to build an immunity and reduce your chance of developing an allergy. However, reactions can be very different from one individual to the next. For about three years after starting beekeeping you swell more in the spring when the bee season starts. After that most people don't swell up much at all. Some beekeepers apply stings through the winter to keep building immunity. 15. What do we use as candy for the queen cages? A: You can make the candy using honey and icing sugar but the candy you see in the tubes in our videos are purchased with the cages from Mann Lake beekeeping supplies and their Canadian distributors. In our province, it's not legal to use honey in queen candy if you are distributing queens. Honey can contain American Foulbrood spores. A specialized, non-drying, sugar syrup (Nulomoline invert sugar) can be used instead of the honey. In any case the candy must be made dry enough that it's crumbly. 16. How do we make pollen patties? A: The patty is made from pollen we collect using a pollen trap. We mix the pollen pellets with sugar syrup to a dough like consistency, form the patties between layers of wax paper and then keep them frozen until they are needed. They will keep for several months frozen. 17. How do we make our grafting bars? A: We cut the wood pieces and attach them to the graft bar with liquid beeswax. We then attach the cups with liquid wax. In both cases the liquid wax is applied with a syringe. Previously, we made the wax cups but now buy them from www.kelleybees.com/. 18. Do we move full honey supers to the top of the stack so the bees can fill the lower ones? A: Some beekeepers do shuffle the supers around and do what's called bottom supering. We place supers back on in the original order and only add new supers on top (top supering). That way it's easier to see when the bees need more space. The bees also ripen the honey before moving up. We sometimes harvest full lower supers and put the top ones that aren't full back on in the original order. 19. Do we ever add brood frames to the cell builder colonies to keep their populations high? A: We do add other frames of sealed brood and sometimes we shake in more young bees from brood frames to boost the hives. About once every three weeks we'll boost the hives in one way or another. 20. How do you level hive stands? A: We level the hive stands periodically with pressure treated wood shims. If the hives are already on the stands, we use a hardwood pry bar and a brick fulcrum to lift each end for shimming. Show less

HI Felipe in Chile Ants aren't a big problem here so I can't comment on that problem. You could probably order the pheromone from the Canadian company below. Mann Lake in the US also sells it. Both would ship it to you. It has an 18 month expiration and I store it in a freezer. It's really helpful to hold the bees in the nucs and is not expensive relative to the cost of your time and the price of queens. I'm sure we lose a few bees but there is no absconding. I understand that confinement in a cool dark location for a few days can work too but with the pheromone strips it's not necessary. Thanks for your feedback Felipe. Intko Supply Ltd.Suite 604, 3345 Kingsway VANCOUVER, BC, V5R 0A7 Canada +1 (604) 356-7393pheromonesupply@gmail.com

Try setting your nuc on a upright concrete block that sits inside a cookie tray; then add a film of mineral oil to the cookie tray. This took care of our ant problem

Hi bakoota You are very welcome. 1. clipping wings - see our video Marking and clipping queens for an answer 2. The pheromone helps keep the bees from absconding. Some beekeepers keep the entrance closed for a couple days and keep the nucs in a cool dark location. This can achieve the same goal.

Hi Larry We just finished a video on this topic today but it won't be posted until the fall. Yes, definitely feed your nuc when you install it in your full size equipment. That will allow your bees to build comb for brood production so the colony will grow. Don't worry about opening up your hives an checking on them. That's way better than the opposite scenario. I find feeding hives directly in the spring is better than group feeding and only do that in the fall.

Thanks for the info. You have the best videos out there.

Hi OA We remove the last queen in August, let the brood emerge and then shake out the bees in front of a hive, We then melt out the comb and honey and install new foundation strips. That way we can start fresh each spring.

Thanks again 😎

I enjoy seeing the harvest of the mini nucs

Hi Stan The pheromone strips were developed here in Canada. They are called Tempqueen and are made by Intko Supply Ltd.Suite 604, 3345 Kingsway VANCOUVER, BC, V5R 0A7 Canada +1 (604) 356-7393pheromonesupply@gmail.com I'm guessing you are in the US. Mann Lake sells both the nucs and the queen pheromone. I can't sell them but Mann Lake in the US does and several Canadian bee supply companies carry them. I doubt anyone will sell you just one though. Maybe you can talk a local bee supply co. into getting some.

Glad you enjoyed the video Stan. Pheromone strips www.mannlakeltd.com/shop-all-categories/hive-colony-maintenance/queen-rearing/queen-rearing-kit Nucs www.mannlakeltd.com/shop-all-categories/hive-colony-maintenance/queen-rearing/nuc-boxes

Glad you found our video helpful! Thanks. We meausure 1.5 cups by scooping them up in a measuring cup. I don't know what the weight of that many bees would be. Yes the wax strip works well to get them started building comb. They convert the syrup into beeswax comb very quickly.

Hi Jan. I'm pleased to hear from you in Denmark. We have worked with Keld Brandstrup of Buckfast Denmark. He is the source of our beautiful Buckfast bees. We do our own breeding too but Keld and before him brother Adam are the sources.

Have a look at our Thorah Island video for more Buckfast information Jan.

I kow Keld. He is my old schoolmate. I'm testing a new website for him. You may have at look - buckfast.web7.mshost.dk/index.php/en/

Recently Keld has visited Jordan and Lebanon trying to develop cooperation with the local beekeepers there. The story is on Facebook - search for Buckfast denmark and you will find the story.

Thanks Jan. I'll have a look. Please say hi to Keld!

Hi Again Ro Boto I'm glad you like our videos. 21 more coming very soon. If you subscribe to our channel you'll get them as they are posted. The bees would build the comb with just the pheromone strip. It helps hold the bees in the nuc until the queen emerges. Without it many bees would abscond so, of course, in that case comb wouldn't be built.

Hi Jim Long term about 80%. We get higher rates sometimes but occasionally it doesn't work as well.

Hi Greg Most years we just feed syrup when we make up the nucs as usually by the time we get into the second round of queens there is a good nectar flow. That wasn't the case this past summer and we had to feed occasionally based on how much feed is stored in the comb.

UoG Honey Bee Research Centre Makes sense.

Hi Chris We get our nuc boxes from a Canadian supplier but they are made by Mann Lake in the US. The pheromone is made in Canada and many bee suppliers sell it. Check out our FAQ in the comments of our introductory video for more details. The pheromone has a shelf life of 18 months but lasts for a week or so in the hive. Not sure really how long we just leave the strip in place and remove it in the fall when we shake the bees out of the nucs.

I forgot to say thanks for your generous comments Chris. Thanks!

FAQ List: Why do we use canvas for the hive inner cover? A: We use canvas inner covers for a few reasons. They make it easy to take a quick peek in the hive, and are cheap and easy to make. They are light, the lids sit down well, less excess wax on the frame top bars, and we rarely need to scrape the inner cover. We use 18 oz (#8) canvas -otherwise known as duck. It's a bit hard to come by in Ontario, but it is available from online distributors (US: www.bigduckcanvas.com/number-8-18oz-cotton-duck-canvas.html, Canada www.jtsoutdoorfabrics.com/18oz-Cotton-Duck-Canvas-Untreated--Natural-60_p_15038.html). Bees chew through thin canvas so a heavy weight is better. We flip it over periodically when new so the bees thoroughly coat it with propolis. An alternative is a feedbag folded in half. Why do we use single brood chambers? A: Our preference is to keep hives in single brood chambers. We use queen excluders above the brood chamber and then add supers. We produce bigger crops managing our hives in singles vs doubles and we find the hive management much easier. It's become quite common here, especially over the last twenty years. We will be making a video about single brood chambers soon! Are our queens for sale? A: We are sold out for 2017. We sell some queens but don't export. We can sell to US customers that are able to pick them up here but otherwise recommend our Buckfast collaborators Munro Honey www.munrohoney.com/ and Ferguson Apiaries fergusonapiaries.on.ca/. To contact us about our queens, please email us at infohbrc@uoguelph.ca. What breed of honeybee do we use? A: We work with Buckfast bees. Check out our website if you would like to learn more about them: www.uoguelph.ca/honeybee/breeding.shtml Will we be making any more videos? A: Yes! We are looking forward to creating more videos for our KZfaq channel this year! Here are some of the topics we will be covering: Working with single brood chambers, indoor overwintering. How do you overwinter double nucleus colonies? A: At the University of Guelph, we winter our double nucleus colonies indoors. You can also winter them outdoors by wrapping two double nucs together with insulation on the sides and top. Are double nucleus colonies prone to swarming? A: With a young queen and the supers above we don't have any problem with these nucs swarming in the first year. We do have to transfer them into a full size box early enough the following spring to prevent swarming. Do we add a frame of pollen or honey into a new split? A: Ideally you add both pollen and honey. Of the two, honey is the most important. Where to purchase some of the products that we use: Coveralls: We really like these Dickies all cotton coveralls. www.dickies.com/coveralls-overalls/deluxe-cotton-coverall/48700.html?dwvar_48700_color=GY#start=3. We use two sided velcro to strap up the wrists and usually tuck the legs into our socks. Plastic Queen cages: Mann Lake and their Canadian distributors sell these and they are made by the French company Nicot. www.mannlakeltd.com/hair-roller-cages. I use a wooden plug on the bottom and screw it in place with a #4 screw after pre drilling. Grafting microscope: www.amscope.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=gooseneck+binocular Mini/mating nucleus boxes: Mann Lake (US) and their Canadian distributors sell these. They are originally from Europe so are widely available there. www.mannlakeltd.com/shop-all-categories/hive-colony-maintenance/queen-rearing/nuc-boxes Queen Pheromone: The pheromone strips were developed here in Canada. They are called Tempqueen and are made by Intko Supply Ltd.Suite 604, 3345 Kingsway VANCOUVER, BC, V5R 0A7 Canada +1 (604) 356-7393. pheromonesupply@gmail.com. Mann Lake in the US and several Canadian bee supply companies carry them. Bee belt and bulk bee box: Our apiary manager Paul Kelly manufactures the Bee Belts and bulk bee box. If you are interested in more information, please email him at pgkelly48@gmail.com. Should you remove any queen cells in a colony before introducing a new queen in a cage? A: Yes, you should remove the queen cells. Look very carefully to make sure you don't miss one. Shake the bees off each frame to make sure you can see them all. Accepted queens are sometimes killed by virgins that emerge from queen cells. Can you make a split without adding a mated queen/can a split raise their own queen? A: A split can raise their own queen (if they have eggs), but you'd be better off buying a mated or queen cell from a local bee breeder. Queens raised by a split are reared under the worst possible conditions, are physiologically inferior, and you aren't taking the opportunity to improve your hive genetics. For a number of reasons, colonies get more aggressive if we let splits raise their own queens. We always use queen cells that we have reared from breeder colonies so we can maintain and improve our genetics. Cells found in hives can be poorly reared if conditions aren't good or if you use swarm cells you are unintentionally breeding for swarming behavior. How often do we check for swarm cells? A: We check for queen cells only in colonies that are stronger based on our ratings as described in our “Swarm Control” video. We only do this at the time of year bees are prone to swarming (ie just before the main summer nectar flow). In some colonies, we check twice, a week apart, if we have the time and we've found cells in them previously. We stop looking once the nectar flow gets going and the time for swarm preparation has passed. How old is a queen when we replace her? A: We re-queen if a queen isn't doing well or when she is in her third year. How often should you be stung to lessen the chances of developing anaphylactic reactions? A: Please speak with an allergist if you have any concerns regarding bee sting reactions. You don’t need that many stings to build an immunity and reduce your chance of developing an allergy. However, reactions can be very different from one individual to the next. For about three years after starting beekeeping you swell more in the spring when the bee season starts. After that most people don't swell up much at all. Some beekeepers apply stings through the winter to keep building immunity. What do we use as candy for the queen cages? A: You can make the candy using honey and icing sugar but the candy you see in the tubes in our videos are purchased with the cages from Mann Lake beekeeping supplies and their Canadian distributors. In our province, it's not legal to use honey in queen candy if you are distributing queens. Honey can contain American Foulbrood spores. A specialized, non-drying, sugar syrup (Nulomoline invert sugar) can be used instead of the honey. In any case the candy must be made dry enough that it's crumbly. How do we make pollen patties? A: The patty is made from pollen we collect using a pollen trap. We mix the pollen pellets with sugar syrup to a dough like consistency, form the patties between layers of wax paper and then keep them frozen until they are needed. They will keep for several months frozen. How do we make our grafting bars? A: We cut the wood pieces and attach them to the graft bar with liquid beeswax. We then attach the cups with liquid wax. In both cases the liquid wax is applied with a syringe. Previously, we made the wax cups but now buy them from www.kelleybees.com/. Do we move full honey supers to the top of the stack so the bees can fill the lower ones? A: Some beekeepers do shuffle the supers around and do what's called bottom supering. We place supers back on in the original order and only add new supers on top (top supering). That way it's easier to see when the bees need more space. The bees also ripen the honey before moving up. We sometimes harvest full lower supers and put the top ones that aren't full back on in the original order. Do we ever add brood frames to the cell builder colonies to keep their populations high? A: We do add other frames of sealed brood and sometimes we shake in more young bees from brood frames to boost the hives. About once every three weeks we'll boost the hives in one way or another. How do you level hive stands? A: We level the hive stands periodically with pressure treated wood shims. If the hives are already on the stands, we use a hardwood pry bar and a brick fulcrum to lift each end for shimming.

I'm going out now to my bees to see if bees will stick to a used queen cell.....I have lots of used plastic cells. I'll use a used cells if it attracts bees. I'm thinking of cutting thick/cadied honey in slices for the feeder plus some stored pollen and maybe some sugar syrup. I'm new to nucs of this type and have the Lyson ones, which I'm getting used to. They cost one queen, so after 5 queens I ve made a good return on my investment.

Hi Free You're most welcome. The pheromone dissipates fairly quickly. It doesn't seem to affect queen acceptance. the way we use it.

Hi Alberto Thanks! Please see our FAQ # 9 and #17 below. 1. Why do we use canvas for the hive inner cover? A: We use canvas inner covers for a few reasons. They make it easy to take a quick peek in the hive, and are cheap and easy to make. They are light, the lids sit down well, less excess wax on the frame top bars, and we rarely need to scrape the inner cover. We use 18 oz (#8) canvas -otherwise known as duck. It's a bit hard to come by in Ontario, but it is available from online distributors (US: www.bigduckcanvas.com/number-8-18oz-cotton-duck-canvas.html, Canada www.jtsoutdoorfabrics.com/18oz-Cotton-Duck-Canvas-Untreated--Natural-60_p_15038.html). Bees chew through thin canvas so a heavy weight is better. We flip it over periodically when new so the bees thoroughly coat it with propolis. An alternative is a feedbag folded in half. 2. Why do we use single brood chambers? A: Our preference is to keep hives in single brood chambers. We use queen excluders above the brood chamber and then add supers. We produce bigger crops managing our hives in singles vs doubles and we find the hive management much easier. It's become quite common here, especially over the last twenty years. We will be making a video about single brood chambers soon! 3. Are our queens for sale? A: We sell some queens but don't export. To contact us about our queens, please email us at infohbrc@uoguelph.ca. Our Buckfast collaborators also sell queens: Munro Honey www.munrohoney.com/ (for CAN sales) and Ferguson Apiaries fergusonapiaries.on.ca/ (for CAN and US sales). . 4. What breed of honeybee do we use? A: We work with Buckfast bees. Check out our website if you would like to learn more about them: www.uoguelph.ca/honeybee/breeding.shtml 5. Will we be making any more videos? A: Yes! We are looking forward to creating more videos for our KZfaq channel this year! Here are some of the topics we will be covering: Working with single brood chambers, indoor overwintering. 6.How do you overwinter double nucleus colonies? A: At the University of Guelph, we winter our double nucleus colonies indoors. You can also winter them outdoors by wrapping two double nucs together with insulation on the sides and top. 7. Are double nucleus colonies prone to swarming? A: With a young queen and the supers above we don't have any problem with these nucs swarming in the first year. We do have to transfer them into a full size box early enough the following spring to prevent swarming. 8. Do we add a frame of pollen or honey into a new split? A: Ideally you add both pollen and honey. Of the two, honey is the most important. 9. Where to purchase some of the products that we use: Coveralls: We really like these Dickies all cotton coveralls. www.dickies.com/coveralls-overalls/deluxe-cotton-coverall/48700.html?dwvar_48700_color=GY#start=3. We use two sided velcro to strap up the wrists and usually tuck the legs into our socks. Plastic Queen cages: Mann Lake and their Canadian distributors sell these and they are made by the French company Nicot. www.mannlakeltd.com/hair-roller-cages. I use a wooden plug on the bottom and screw it in place with a #4 screw after pre drilling. Grafting microscope: www.amscope.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=gooseneck+binocular Mini/mating nucleus boxes: Mann Lake (US) and their Canadian distributors sell these. They are originally from Europe so are widely available there. www.mannlakeltd.com/shop-all-categories/hive-colony-maintenance/queen-rearing/nuc-boxes Queen Pheromone: The pheromone strips were developed here in Canada. They are called Tempqueen and are made by Intko Supply Ltd.Suite 604, 3345 Kingsway VANCOUVER, BC, V5R 0A7 Canada +1 (604) 356-7393. pheromonesupply@gmail.com. Mann Lake in the US and several Canadian bee supply companies carry them. Bee belt and bulk bee box: Our apiary manager Paul Kelly manufactures the Bee Belts and bulk bee box. If you are interested in more information, please email him at pgkelly48@gmail.com. 10. Should you remove any queen cells in a colony before introducing a new queen in a cage? A: Yes, you should remove the queen cells. Look very carefully to make sure you don't miss one. Shake the bees off each frame to make sure you can see them all. Accepted queens are sometimes killed by virgins that emerge from queen cells. 11. Can you make a split without adding a mated queen/can a split raise their own queen? A: A split can raise their own queen (if they have eggs), but you'd be better off buying a mated or queen cell from a local bee breeder. Queens raised by a split are reared under the worst possible conditions, are physiologically inferior, and you aren't taking the opportunity to improve your hive genetics. For a number of reasons, colonies get more aggressive if we let splits raise their own queens. We always use queen cells that we have reared from breeder colonies so we can maintain and improve our genetics. Cells found in hives can be poorly reared if conditions aren't good or if you use swarm cells you are unintentionally breeding for swarming behaviour. 12. How often do we check for swarm cells? A: We check for queen cells only in colonies that are stronger based on our ratings as described in our “Swarm Control” video. We only do this at the time of year bees are prone to swarming (ie just before the main summer nectar flow). In some colonies, we check twice, a week apart, if we have the time and we've found cells in them previously. We stop looking once the nectar flow gets going and the time for swarm preparation has passed. 13. How old is a queen when we replace her? A: We re-queen if a queen isn't doing well or when she is in her third year. 14. How often should you be stung to lessen the chances of developing anaphylactic reactions? A: Please speak with an allergist if you have any concerns regarding bee sting reactions. You don’t need that many stings to build an immunity and reduce your chance of developing an allergy. However, reactions can be very different from one individual to the next. For about three years after starting beekeeping you swell more in the spring when the bee season starts. After that most people don't swell up much at all. Some beekeepers apply stings through the winter to keep building immunity. 15. What do we use as candy for the queen cages? A: You can make the candy using honey and icing sugar but the candy you see in the tubes in our videos are purchased with the cages from Mann Lake beekeeping supplies and their Canadian distributors. In our province, it's not legal to use honey in queen candy if you are distributing queens. Honey can contain American Foulbrood spores. A specialized, non-drying, sugar syrup (Nulomoline invert sugar) can be used instead of the honey. In any case the candy must be made dry enough that it's crumbly. 16. How do we make pollen patties? A: The patty is made from pollen we collect using a pollen trap. We mix the pollen pellets with sugar syrup to a dough like consistency, form the patties between layers of wax paper and then keep them frozen until they are needed. They will keep for several months frozen. 17. How do we make our grafting bars? A: We cut the wood pieces and attach them to the graft bar with liquid beeswax. We then attach the cups with liquid wax. In both cases the liquid wax is applied with a syringe. Previously, we made the wax cups but now buy them from www.kelleybees.com/. 18. Do we move full honey supers to the top of the stack so the bees can fill the lower ones? A: Some beekeepers do shuffle the supers around and do what's called bottom supering. We place supers back on in the original order and only add new supers on top (top supering). That way it's easier to see when the bees need more space. The bees also ripen the honey before moving up. We sometimes harvest full lower supers and put the top ones that aren't full back on in the original order. 19. Do we ever add brood frames to the cell builder colonies to keep their populations high? A: We do add other frames of sealed brood and sometimes we shake in more young bees from brood frames to boost the hives. About once every three weeks we'll boost the hives in one way or another. 20. How do you level hive stands? A: We level the hive stands periodically with pressure treated wood shims. If the hives are already on the stands, we use a hardwood pry bar and a brick fulcrum to lift each end for shimming

Yes it would. Not a natural shaped hive though so I don't know how it would work. I've seen some really neat 1 x 1/2 frame nucs but they were well insulated.

If you had multiple nucs in one box you could have more problems with queens orienting to the wrong entrance. By 1 X 1/2 frame I meant one frame, full depth, i/2 length. These were individual nucs not multiple nucs in one box. A 6 5/8" deep box divided by four with half length frames works well.

Hi Dane Thanks! Nice to hear you appreciate our videos. I'm sure if you ask around someone in your area is building double nuc boxes like ours. They aren't uncommon here. We build our own from purchased boxes and use 1/8"tempered masonite partitions so we can get 5 frames on each side. We offer weekend courses here in the spring but you can probably get into something good locally. A course can be better than 5 years of experience. Make sure the instructors are well qualified. A lot of new beekeepers are teaching courses these days. See our website for details about our courses www.uoguelph.ca/honeybee/education-beekeeping.shtml

Thanks Kate! Glad you like the videos. We do all our queen mating on Islands in Lake Simcoe or in our home yard. We get isolated mating with drones from drone mother hives on the Islands and from drones in the home yard and our nearby outyards. The latter case is called drone flooding. Lucky you live in our drone flooded area! Two of our videos that relate to this are Managing Towards Gentle Behaviour and Thorah Island

@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre Thanks for that amazing answer. Just finished watching those terrific educational videos.

Thanks! see hbrc.ca/equipment-and-materials/

Two coats of exterior latex,

Glad you enjoy our videos. This method is only used for producing mated queens. The colonies are too small to use in producing full size colonies.

Sure UoG will answer. Meantime, each Queen Cell is near hatching age and the Virgin will I guess be giving off her own phremones, even before being Mated. This will probably stop the Workers from making their 'own queen' from the eggs/ Larva present. Remember, UoG have that artificial plastic strip pheromone stapled in their as well. 👀 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 Happy Beekeeping 2022. 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 I don't have access to these strips, so repeated adding of a QC will keep the girls busy waiting for their (next) Queen. 😊

Hi there WYH We use a Caricell incubator that's manufactured in New Zealand. They are very reliable but expensive. see dancingbeeequipment.com/collections/queen-rearing?page=2 This link also shows a Canadian made incubator. It looks good but I haven't tried it out yet.

thanks alot. I've brought one and look forward to using it this year. Love the videos and look forward to seeing more in the future

Yes, the queen cells are put in immediately after the bees.

Hi CC No there are very few drones in the mating nucs. We always make sure to have lots of drones available by placing mating nucs in beeyards with full sized colonies. We also have other beeyards with full size colonies surrounding the mating yard.

Hi There These very small colonies are easy to work without smoke. We have gentle bees and small colonies are less aggressive than big ones. We do get stung some. I find a suit too hot in the warmer months. Wear what you feel comfortable in. Over time you learn when you can get away with less protection. I was taught to work without gloves so never thought about doing it otherwise. If you watch our video about stings I explain a bit more.

Hi Mark For just a few queens you might find it better to skip the mating nuc part and introduce queen cells to splits. That works well too. See our video 'Handling Queen Cells'.

:) Thanks!

Hi and thanks Lloyd The mini nucs are designed exclusively for mating queens. In the fall we shake the bees out in front of a full size hive.