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Apidea

PostPosted:07 Jul 2019, 21:41
by Alfred
Anyone used one with success?
I want to harvest some QC in case it's all heading south.
I've got some capped cells in thereabouts 14 days stage and some at 4 days.
Theres two hives that are, as I see it, pre and post swarm,and not laying
Another hive has been off lay for weeks
and another for about two days.

What age cells can you transfer to mating nuc?
As far as the frame top apertures go ,can I just put the "peanut" in there with some excess comb around it or should I get some sort of cup-online manual doesn't specify
Also unclear do the attendant host bees have to be from a different hive(as the association expert insists?
It's a genuine Apidea btw.

Re: Apidea

PostPosted:07 Jul 2019, 21:50
by Japey Edge
I have a cheap knock-off polystyrene thing for about £14 from eBay.

Worked first time. I shook some bees from a super into a builder's bucket (so they were younger I think?), scooped a pyrex jug around the 300ml mark and poured them in the upside down apidea/mini mating hive. I then closed the bottom, turned it upright. Then I carved a QC out, took advice from the guys on here and wrapped it in foil and put a cocktail stick through the foil near the base (as in, not the tip that the queen emerges from) so I could seat the QC in between the frames, through the hole designed for the situation, with the cocktail stick bridging across to keep her in place. Opened the lid, put the QC in as planned (making sure all frames had foundation. I then filled the feeder with some fondant stuff and closed them up in the garage for 3 days, spraying a bit of water on them twice a day.

I'd probably give them sugar syrup feed next time. Saves me spraying. It was successful, a queen emerged. In the next two weeks or so she should be mated and laying. It's a really nice feeling! :-D

I do think I put too many bees in though... I may have gone over the 300ml mark. I've seen various online posts of people putting a full mug in. That would be less than I did...

Re: Apidea

PostPosted:07 Jul 2019, 21:53
by Japey Edge
Also, do you have foundation sheets specifically for your apidea? Or are you cutting it out of foundation for your normal frames? I ask because you need to make sure you cut the foundation and put it in the frames in the right direction.

Look at the background to this forum - that's the direction your hexagons should be pointing - points top and bottom - NOT flat top and bottom.

I don't think that makes sense when I read it :lol:

Re: Apidea

PostPosted:07 Jul 2019, 22:21
by Patrick
Jazz sums it up spot on. Bees shaken from supers into a bowl then a mug full fine tipped into Apidea. Leave a while in cool and dark beforehand for a couple of days so they know they are queenless and with foundation strips in mini frames. Doesn’t matter in the least which hive they come from, but do wrap cell in foil.

Don’t site Apidea in full sun and once cell has emerged make plans where queen will go because with so little laying space they can quickly run out of room and abscond.

As with so much in beekeeping, they are one solution with advantages and buy also disadvantages.

You are morally obliged to sing “Apidea, Apidea, will you do the Fandango?” at least once however. 😁

Re: Apidea

PostPosted:08 Jul 2019, 07:16
by Alfred
Bee--elzebub has a devil put aside for me,for me,for meeeeeeee.
🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸
Yes I know the.words from that record's first time round.

Thanks,what about the 300ml-are they all from the same colony?
I suppose the older cell is the better choice.
I've also ordered a cheap one to run parallel given my current situation.
Bee Equipment have them on offer at six pounds ten shillings .
They also have 10 pairs of frame runners for under a tenner.

Re: Apidea

PostPosted:08 Jul 2019, 08:08
by Patrick
Alfred wrote:
08 Jul 2019, 07:16

Thanks,what about the 300ml-are they all from the same colony?
I suppose the older cell is the better choice.
I've also ordered a cheap one to run parallel given my current situation.
Bee Equipment have them on offer at six pounds ten shillings .
Neither the exact 300ml nor the source of the bees are critical. I have used bees from the same hive without issue. If placed in the same apiary you can expect some returnees to the original hive.

An older cell just means they are less vulnerable to cutting out and handling issues for the pupa and closer to emerging.

Re: Apidea

PostPosted:08 Jul 2019, 09:11
by Patrick
Re Frame runners. Personal choice but certainly in regard to brood boxes at least, I am steadily replacing all the plastic runners with metal ones. In my view, they are simply better.

Plastic ones can start to distort, flatten, bend over time and certainly do not like exposure to hot steam in my periodic old comb melting sessions. If there is propolising going on as well, it means getting brood frames in and out quickly and without fuss becomes annoying and bee space between boxes starts to change.

Re: Apidea

PostPosted:08 Jul 2019, 13:12
by AdamD
For comb, I cut a sheet of super foundation and glue it in with molten beeswax dripped on with the frame upside down. A 1/2" strip of foundation is fine, or you can use more if you wish.
The best queencell is a day off the queen emerging, so if you shut the bees in for 3 days, the queen is then already out. She is also more robust at that time compared to a few days before. (the queens in queencells are easily damaged).

With syrup, you need some floaters on the top to stop bees drowning. And if syrup ferments, the yeasts get into the polystyrene causing new syrup to ferment - so you either need to paint the feeder to make it non-porous or use fondant.

I tend to not measure the bees going in which is a bit dangerous! They are shaken into a cardboard box (super frames are best as the bees are younger and less likely to fly back home); the box banged on the ground and then "enough" bees are tipped into the apidea whilst upside down (that's also why fondant is a good idea!). Apidea have a hold in the plastic 'crown board' to put the queencell through. Or you can fix it by spare wax it came with onto the foundation and then invert the apidea in order to get the bees in. (I use a different make of mini-nuc that doesn't have a hole in the crown board which is why I stick the queencell to the frame).

Three days in a cool dark space means that the bees buzz to get out but it does work. If you leave them in for just a day, for example, there is a much greater chance that you'll lose them as they fly off and if they do that before the queen emerges, then she will cool down and die in the cell, potentially.

Mini-nucs are not as reliable as a nuc with a frame of brood for rearing a queencell, and need more regular attention, however they use a lot less bees.

Re: Apidea

PostPosted:08 Jul 2019, 14:09
by Japey Edge
Ah I think I did mine wrong - I put the QC in with the bees on the same day and left them locked up in the dark.
It worked great, really happy :-D

Now since my other colonies produced queens I'm not sure what to do with her. Depends if that micro swarm get more and more angry I guess :)

Re: Apidea

PostPosted:08 Jul 2019, 16:18
by Alfred
Send her to me!
The cheap box on its way has a feeder liner so I should be able to use syrup there.
The fondant in the Apidea-just a little slab at the bottom of the pit?
I have some fondant ,if I recall it may be thymol flavoured.
Would this be ok just for the mating box.
I have two hives that were well on their way to finishing a super of honey ,and at the moment I'm not sure where any of the planned queen's are going to end up.
Also is it ok to put more than one QC in at a time.Im thinking its insurance against a dead pupae
Early doors would then just dispatch her excess sisters once shes out?