Content
Often, beekeepers are faced with a problem when it is necessary to plant a fetal uterus in a queenless colony to save it. This task is difficult, a positive result is not guaranteed, since it depends on objective and subjective factors - the methods of the procedure, the state of the queen, the bee colony, weather conditions.
External factors for replanting queens
To successfully plant a queen bee, a number of external conditions are necessary:
- warm, sunny, calm weather;
- the presence of a good bribe, in which the bees are calm and busy;
- spring or summer is the most favorable season for receiving a queen bee;
- evening time.
The state of the bee colony before replanting the queen
The result of replanting a queen bee in a queenless colony largely depends on the state of the latter. Substitution is easier if the queen is lost (or removed) just 2 to 3 hours ago. During this time, the aggressiveness and anxiety in the hive is somewhat reduced. A longer "orphan" condition is a negative factor, since in the presence of an open brood, fistulous queen cells will be laid. The beekeeper will have to remove them, and only after 2 hours try to plant the uterus. In this case, the family is quite aggressive and may not accept it.
If a queenless bee colony is such for a long time and a person does not interfere, then tinderpots appear. Further efforts to plant the young queen are unsuccessful.
In the presence of an open brood, a young fetal uterus takes root better. The presence of eggs and larvae is considered a plus.
In the absence of brood, it is worth replanting infertile queens. The beekeeper's behavior during the procedure should be calm. You can not drag out the time of visiting the family, knock on the hive, irritating insects and causing malicious behavior. Beekeepers noticed that young bees are more relaxed and friendly towards the new queen than older individuals.
The state of the queen bee at the time of transplantation
The queen is well received, it is easy to plant her when she is fertile, transplanted from the bee colony, where she has just laid eggs. The fetal uterus, which had a break in oviposition, becomes feeble in appearance, excessively mobile. Her appearance is more like a barren individual. For this reason, it is difficult to accept it. The ideal option is to plant a fetal uterus grown on your own and transfer it directly from the honeycomb.
An infertile one is taken worse than a fetal one. To facilitate the process, such a queen should be used immediately after leaving the mother liquor, when she moves smoothly and slowly.
If a queen bee has sat in a cage for several days, then it can only be planted in a nucleus and with great care.
It is very important not to bring in foreign odors along with the cage. The beekeeper's hands should not smell of cologne, onions, tobacco. Otherwise, the attitude towards the uterus will be hostile and it can be destroyed. It is worth putting honey on the cell from the nest where you want to plant the queen.
When can the queen bee be transplanted?
The older the queen bee, the more drone eggs she lays. The family's penchant for swarming is increasing. The production of honey is falling. It makes no sense to keep the uterus for more than two years, it is worth planting a young one. It is necessary to keep strict records and registration of the replacement of queens.
Unscheduled replacement occurs for several reasons:
- in the case of low family productivity;
- when wintering is poorly transferred (a large amount of podmor, diarrhea);
- physical injury;
- to change the gene pool (insects have become too aggressive);
- to replace the breed;
- in case of illness in the hive.
After the spring examination, notes should be made about the strength of the colonies, the condition and origin of the queen. You can plant the queen bees throughout the season as the cores appear. Constant replacement leads to their high productivity, the emergence of brood until late autumn, which contributes to the successful wintering.
To increase the bribe in June or July, you can plant a young uterus. She cannot lay eggs yet, there is no open brood, honey is being collected. The removed queen is located in the nucleus used for the autumn or spring reinforcement of bee colonies.
Planting methods
When the queen grows old, dies, is injured or cannot lay offspring, the bees independently raise a queen for themselves, feeding the larva not with honey, but with milk. The young individual or the bees themselves destroy the old queen and a natural "silent replacement" occurs.
There is a simplified artificial way to replace the queen. It is used in large apiaries, where there is not enough time for laborious methods. Its essence consists in replanting the queen in bee colonies without looking for the old one. To do this, during a bribe, the printed mother cell must be placed in the nest where replacement is required. It is attached between the bars of the frames in the upper case or in the store. The next day, they examine the mother house: not touched - the queen is accepted. If the bees chewed it, they put the second one. When the destruction is repeated, it becomes clear that the old queen bee has been selected. If a young woman is adopted, then after a while she will appear from the mother liquor and destroy the old one.
Among the main methods of replanting:
- orphanage method;
- container way;
- with a cap;
- by layering or core.
All methods can be divided into two groups:
- straight;
- indirect.
Indirect
This method consists in isolating the queen from the bees using mechanical devices at the time of her replanting. Special devices can be in the form of caps and cages, insulator containers, etc.
With the help of Titov's uterine cell
Many beekeepers try to plant the queen with this method. First you need to delete the old one. Place the young fetus in the cage, attaching it in the center of the nest next to the open brood, directly to the combs. The honey should be in the aft compartment of the cage. Release the queen after 3 days, after removing all fistulous mother liquors from the nest. If insects react aggressively to the "captive", then she must again be placed in a cage for 2 days, and the exit should be sealed with wax. Release again after 3 days. The probability of planting in this way is about 85%, but the disadvantage is the possibility of injury to the uterus, which is in unnatural conditions.
How to plant with a mesh cap
At the end of the day, the queen should be removed from the colony. After 4 hours, cover the new queen on the honeycomb with a cap and place it in the center of the nest. After a few days, she will start laying eggs. It is necessary to remove all fistulous queen cells and the cap, observing the behavior of the bees. In case of their aggression, it is worth prolonging the "imprisonment" of the queen for another 2 days.
Straight
In this risky method, the uterus is placed in the hive without mechanical means of protecting it. This method is relevant in a number of cases:
- when replacing the old one with a new one that does not have a break in laying;
- with a large number of fetal uterus;
- when the bee colony grows intensively.
Among the direct methods, the most famous are:
- using a taphole - the uterus, smeared with drone gruel, is launched into the hive;
- replacement - find a queen in the nest, destroy her and put a new one in her place, monitoring her condition for some time;
- shaking off - remove the old queen bee, and add a new one to the bees launched into the hive through the gangway (shake off a couple of frames from the hive);
- with cores - the old one with several frames is removed, and the nucleus is placed in the hive, blocking off a plug-in board;
- aroma supplement - the old queen is destroyed, and the bees and the new one are processed with sweet mint syrup;
- with ethyl ether (7 drops) - it is applied to the upper bar of the frames, covered with a canvas, the queen bee is launched into the center of the nest.
How to plant a uterus in a hive
There are a number of factors to consider for a successful replacement:
- the optimal time for the change of the queen is from April to June;
- the best place is small growing families;
- for the adoption of the queen, it is necessary to remove the infertile queens, open brood, eggs and larvae;
- it is difficult to plant the uterus after the main honey harvest (July-August) due to the aggressiveness of insects;
- it is easier to fix a queenless family in August-October, since the aggressiveness subsides;
- it is difficult to plant the queen during a period of possible theft;
- bees in a pre-milking state will not accept a new queen, since they choose her themselves during this period.
How to plant a fetal uterus in a family
The sense of smell of insects allows them to smell the enzymes of the queen bee. They distinguish fruitful from infertile by smell and accept the former more easily.
One of the methods of replanting is from the transfer cage. Pedigree bee farms sell fetal queens in plastic containers, consisting of two sections. The first is for the uterus and her entourage, the second is for the kandy. The top of the container is covered with foil. To transplant the fetal uterus into the layer from the transfer cell, you must:
- Find and remove the queen bee from the nest.
- Make several holes with a diameter of 2 mm in the foil.
- Attach the container with the new queen to the nest frame next to the brood.
- Close the hive lid.
- After 2 days, examine the hive, remove the fistulous mother liquors.
- The holes closed with wax mean that they do not want to accept the uterus, you should leave the container in its original form for a day.
- If the holes are open, then the film is changed to foundation.
- Place the cage in its original place.
- The bees will gnaw the foundation and free the captive.
- After three days, the nest should be inspected. If there is seeding, then it was possible to plant - the uterus is accepted.
How to plant an infertile uterus
When the uterus is replaced with a barren one, the bees react very excitedly. Replanting negatively affects productivity. This operation should be carried out on a small layer located in a separate hive or enclosure:
- An infertile uterus or uterus is placed in the layer. It should be placed between brood frames.
- After fertilization and the beginning of sowing, reinforce the layering with the printed brood.
- Form a layer in the second body of the hive, knocking the second plywood bottom to it.
- Add 2 frames with bee bread and honey, 2 frames with printed brood, shake off young bees from two frames, place an infertile queen and a queen bee.
- Open the spare taphole.
- After the start of seeding, reinforce the layers with printed brood frames (3 pcs.).
- Remove the old uterus.
- Remove the partition.
- Replaced queens should be placed in cores for the autumn reinforcement of main families.
How to plant a queen in a hive if there is no brood
In order to form layering without brood, it is necessary:
- Place one food frame and three frames with freshly built foundation in the nest.
- Close the tap hole tightly.
- Shake a few frames with bees into the hive.
- Avoid replanting a queen bee from an old colony.
- Close the hive.
- Move the house to another place.
- To plant the infertile uterus through the notch.
You can form layering without brood in another way:
- Shake off 4 frames of bees in an empty box.
- Close the ventilation opening with a mesh.
- Place the box in the shade.
- Prepare a house with 4 frames.
- Plant the uterus in the center of the nest in a cage with a hole sealed with wax.
- Shake the bees out of the box and into the hive.
- Close the lid and leave alone for a day.
- Open the entrance and remove the cage.
How to plant a uterus in a queenless family through a newspaper
Large families do not accept the new queen well. To avoid aggression, you can plant it in the layer with the help of Titov's cell. In 3 - 4 days after the uterus is accepted by the layering and begins to sow eggs, you can start combining. For this purpose, put on the main building a compartment with a layer and a young queen, dividing them with a newspaper. The bees will gnaw through the newspaper and unification will take place. In the presence of the old, a fight with the young and strong is inevitable. Most likely, the young one will win.
How to plant a uterus in a hive in late autumn
Many beekeepers are afraid of replanting a queen bee in September. Nevertheless, this process has many advantages:
- maximum egg production is reached in April-May;
- there is no swarming;
- the amount of uterine substance is maximum;
- the probability of swarming with an autumn queen is 2%;
- increase in the profitability of the apiary;
- decrease in the incidence of varroatosis;
- autumn bees endure wintering better;
- increase in apiary productivity by 50%.
The autumn replanting method is as follows:
- Hang the cage with the queen on a carnation driven into a nest feeder.
- Open two holes in the cage.
- Insects pass through the cage for food and release the queen bee.
The whole process takes no more than a day. Having become interested in the syrup, the insects ignore the queen, which begins to smell of bees rubbing against it. As a result, replanting is successful and fast.
Working with bees after replanting
For those engaged in beekeeping, replanting of fetal queens is an important and painstaking stage in the maintenance of the apiary. This manipulation is carried out at any time, as soon as defects or lag in the development of the family are revealed. In order to be able to cull and plant the queen bees, it is necessary to timely form layering from strong, productive families. Replacement queens should be used in cores to strengthen colonies in the fall or spring. They are used on average for two seasons. The first is in the main family and the second is in the nucleus. If during the bribe a break in laying is not needed, then the fetal uterus is transplanted. If such a break is necessary, then the cores are not created, and the mother cells appear later, by the beginning of the bribe.
Conclusion
For the successful operation of the apiary, you need to know how to correctly and on time plant a fetal uterus in a queenless colony. Knowledge and application of not one, but several methods can give a large amount of honey yield and apiary health. Using knowledge and relying on objective factors, the beekeeper can count on a significant work result.
