How to remove a queen bee?

The main function of the queen bee is to lay eggs. There is only one fetal individual in the family. The bees take care of their parent. She has her own retinue, which provides her with food (royal jelly).

Beekeeping for beginners: what does a queen bee look like?

The queen bee or as the beekeepers call it "Queen" is the parent of all the bees living in the hive. In nature, its life expectancy can reach up to 8 years., but in beekeeping, the queen is usually changed to a young one after 2 years. This is due to the fact that active sowing of eggs occurs in the first two years, then reproduction decreases. The beekeeper can change it earlier if it does not give good results.

Now let's talk about what a queen bee looks like. It can be easily distinguished from worker bees in shape and size. It has an elongated body reaching 2-2.5 cm in size. Its abdomen, unlike other bees, protrudes beyond the wings. There is a sting at the end, but it is used to protect against other queen bees.

Has a smaller eye size. Weight - 0.025 g, and barren - 0.020 g. Weight and size depend on the age of the bee and the breed. Uterus are fertile and infertile. The first ones are sown with worker bees, while the latter are sown with drones.

How long does it take to hatch queen bees from scratch naturally?

 Let's take a look at how and how many days the queen bee is hatched? For those beekeepers who are seriously engaged in apiary, this knowledge is necessary for the following reasons:

1. To change an old individual to a young one.
2. For breeding work.
3. To prevent swarming of bees.
4. For sowing control.
5. It will help to identify the tinder fungus.

The process of hatching a queen bee begins with sowing an egg. The uterus is removed from the ovum, which subsequently sows the worker bees. Tinder fungi are removed from the infertile sowing.

In a bowl built up on honeycombs, the uterus sows eggs. A larva develops from it, which is taken care of and protected by bees. The larva of the future uterus is fed with royal jelly and the mother continues to be pulled out of the bowl. On the 7th day, they seal it.

Before sealing, they fill it with maggot food. It is royal jelly. Those beekeepers who collect it for sale, this is the most convenient time for collection.

How many days does the queen bee hatch and leave the queen cell? Before leaving the mother liquor, the larva, feeding on milk, grows and turns into a pupa. From the pupa to the uterus. For some time it still ripens in the mother liquor. On the 16th day, there is an exit from the mother liquor, by gnawing it out.

In the first time after leaving the mother liquor, the young uterus is gaining strength and eliminates the rest of the mother liquor. At the same time, they are divided into fetal and tinder fungi. Those individuals that fly around and mate with drones within 7 days become fruitful.The whole family is involved in this process. If this happens, then after 3 days in the hive, sowing by working bees should appear.

A fetal uterus can live for 5 years, but for the production of honey it is not advisable to keep it for so long. After 2 years, it should be changed to a young one, because after this time, sowing decreases. Autumn sowing ends early, and spring sowing begins later. If the uterus did not fly around, then a drone sowing will appear in the hive. Such a family is doomed to perish. The tinder should be removed and the fetal individual should be added.

Cycle, stages and timing of development of the larva in the mother liquor by day

Queen bee hatching schedule.

Without mating with drones, it is impossible to get a fetal uterus. But the number of drones in the hive must be constantly monitored. How does a drone develop?

The drone is formed in the same way as the worker bee, but has a longer development cycle. If you look closely at the combs, the cells with drones in the combs are larger. They have a convex, loose lid. It takes 24 days from egg to adult. The drone will be ready for mating on day 33. Therefore, it is important to look at the calendar and not miss this time.

How is the uterus excreted without a larva?

A simple method used by beekeepers to get a young queen without buying. Popular in private apiaries and available for beginners. A strong family should be chosen for success in hatching the uterus.... If more queens are required, then several families are selected.

In the central part of the body, more precisely in the interframe space, an insulator is installed, where egg-laying will take place. If the insulator is not available, then they can be replaced with honeycombs. At the stage when larvae appear in the combs, they are deposited in a prepared layer.

Further actions of the beekeeper

1. After 6 hours, the honeycomb with the laid eggs is taken. They are taken out of the hive.
2. With a heated knife, a strip with laid eggs is cut out.
3. Cut on one side to half the height. One of the three cells will remain.
4. On the remaining cells with larvae, gently expand the holes with a stick (make bowls artificially). Queen cells will be built here.
5. A pre-prepared strip is attached to an empty honeycomb frame.
6. A hole is made no more than 5 cm high (parallel to the bar on top).
7. The strip is glued with melted wax or wooden pins. It is taken into account how many queens are required and the same number of holes are made.

Growing a queen bee

The queen is reared where the larvae are collected. The frame is placed in place of the one that was removed before. There will be a congestion of worker bees who constantly monitor order, timely delivery of royal jelly and the alignment of queen cells.

Thus, the family turns into educators. Before the appearance of the uterus, the uterus is excised and placed in a nucleus or cells. In this way, an individual is reared without larva transfer.

Basic rules for breeding

 The queens are reared at the same time as the drone brood (thus sexually mature drones appear).

1. A fertile individual appears with a good honey harvest.
2. A queen reared from large larvae is better than from small ones.
3. For withdrawal, larvae are used which are 12 hours old.

Double-queen keeping of a colony of bees

Double-queen keeping of bee colonies allows to increase the hives to the main honey collection and thus you can increase the collection of honey by 50%. It is advisable to keep it in this way in central Russia and in its northern regions, since the period of honey collection in these regions is short and most often ends in July.

Advantages of double-queen bee keeping in multi-hive hives:

• in winter, feed consumption decreases (due to mutual heating);
• sowing increases;
• the activity of the bee increases;
• the collection of honey increases.

Flaws:

• bulky and heavy hives;
• deterioration in ventilation;
• it is difficult to prevent swarming;
• when viewing the frames, you need to disassemble the entire structure.

In double hives

 This method is used in hives with two bodies (12 frames) and two magazines. During the flowering of the willow, the nest is expanded with foundation. Thus, by the beginning of May, 8 frames with sowing appear. If a queen cell is laid on them by bees, the body is removed and installed next to it.

Instead, they put a body with half frames and a source. It is closed with a blind partition and a body with a uterus is installed on top. The entrance should be turned the other way.

After 4 days, queen cells are removed from the lower body. The cells turn to one side. Now there are two "queens" working in the hive. They are kept until honey collection.

During the main honey collection, the septum is removed. Since there is only one queen in the hive, then when families are united, the strong one kills the weak one.

In multi-hive hives

 With the help of two-queen keeping of families, beekeepers in multi-body hives build up strong families for the main honey collection. To do this, in the first decade of May, the hatching of the queens begins to form. From the second half of the family, they occupy two or three buildings, and in the upper half they organize layering. An infertile individual and a mother plant are placed in it. At the end of the month, the sowing of the honeycomb begins.

Now work is beginning to actively build up families with two queens. On layers of 6-8 frames, a dividing grid is placed for 1-2 days. After the hulls are filled with frames with foundation. They put a dividing grid and a case on top. The old "queen" is removed... A new layer is made on it.

These colonies do not swarm and have more worker bees coming out of the upper hulls. This increases the mass of the collected honey.

In sun loungers

For some, the double-queen keeping of bees in the hives is more convenient.

With this method, a lounger is taken into 16 frames, which are divided by a dividing grid. In each department there is a family with a uterus. In this form, they hibernate, and in the spring they grow.

In the summer, a common store is put up, a building with a lattice. As families grow, shops are added. Thus, the yield of honey is increased.

From all that has been said, it is clear that the uterus plays the main role in the hive. As you can see, it is not difficult to bring out a queen bee with knowledge of the matter. The main thing is to adhere to the specified scheme and then you can withdraw the individual from scratch. How much honey you harvest depends on it. With the skill and knowledge of handling the queen of the hive, you can increase the productivity of the apiary.