Author Topic: Grafting/Cell Builder/Weather  (Read 2158 times)

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Offline ShepherdsWatchFarm

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Grafting/Cell Builder/Weather
« on: April 22, 2015, 08:02:51 pm »
I set up a cell building colony today consisting of 18 medium frames full of open nectar, honey, pollen, nurse bees, and sealed brood. My plan is to graft 25-30 larva. The weather turned cooler (upper 50's) for the next 2 days so I wanted to wait until Saturday to do the grafting. Is 3 days too long to wait? The colony has no queen and no provisions to make a queen until I give them the graft.
 What's the coolest temperatures anyone has grafted? I do mine indoors. -Thanks
My biggest fear is that when I die, my wife will sell all of my beekeeping stuff for what I told her I paid for it.

Offline LazyBkpr

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Re: Grafting/Cell Builder/Weather
« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2015, 10:40:52 pm »
I usually make up my cell builder 4 days in advance, and on day 4 go in and destroy any emergency cells. That will also be the day I can pull the empty frame I gave the queen to lay in from her hive/nuc.. it should have newly emerged larvae in it.
   SO.. I do not think three days is too long, but they may be some rather unhappy bees by then.

   I have cells being built that should be capped this weekend. it is supposed to be 30 degrees tonight. It was 29 last night..  but mid 60's tomorrow so I will check on those cells.
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Offline capt44

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Re: Grafting/Cell Builder/Weather
« Reply #2 on: April 24, 2015, 10:20:27 pm »
I set up a cloake board on 19th and put in the cell bars with empty cell cups for the bees to polish.
On the 20th I grafted 80 larva into the cell cups.
On the 21st they had started pulling out wax on the cell cups they've excepted.
We have had 3 cool nights, one night it got down to 44 degrees F.
The cells are due to be capped tomorrow (Saturday)
I will check them late tomorrow afternoon.
I will watch the weather close for the next few days, if it's going to cool down I will move them to the incubator.
They are due to emerge May 2nd.
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Offline ShepherdsWatchFarm

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Re: Grafting/Cell Builder/Weather
« Reply #3 on: April 27, 2015, 10:25:08 pm »
Thanks guys.
I waited until Sunday and grafted 33 cells and am hoping to get 15-20 takers. I also had some swarm cells in a really good hive and I used those to split my vicious hive into 3 nucs. We tried to kill the old queen last week but she up and flew off the hive tool when we were looking at her. She didn't make it back because that hive had emergency cells this week. Good riddance! Africanized NJ bees lol!
My biggest fear is that when I die, my wife will sell all of my beekeeping stuff for what I told her I paid for it.