Beekeeping Plans 2009

This is what Flo and I are going to try this season.
I've been reading up on queen rearing and this a first attempt at a scheduled plan.
We need:
1. one strong donor colony.
2. one queen raising nuc
3. spare frames of foundation.
4. one floor pollen trap. We need this on April 4th.
5. Q-cups or "CupKit". We need this on April 25th.
6. eight mating nucs. We need these on May 16th.

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Saturday March 21:
In all colonies except the donor colony:
1. Fit a 1 inch strip of drone foundation at the base of what will become the drone trapping frame later in the season.
This should encourage lots of drones to be laid.
Wait 2 weeks
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Saturday April 4:
1. Make sure there are plenty of drones laid in the apiary.
2. Fit a pollen trap on the donor colony.
Wait 2 weeks - The drones have to mature to six weeks old to be fertile.
- Collect pollen each week or more often.
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Saturday April 18:
In the donor colony:
1. Put a frame of foundation and cups in a Queen proof cage. Preferably use a "CupKit".
2. Spray the Q-cups with syrup and/or pre-condition with a wax film.
3. Mark this frame with a Gold Pin.
4. Place on the edge of the brood so it will be “prepared by the worker bees.
Wait 7 days
- Collect pollen.
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Saturday April 25:
In the donor colony:
1. Move the gold frame to the edge of the brood box. Well away from the brood and Queen.
5. Confine one frame of young brood in the Queen proof frame.
6. Mark this frame with a Blue Pin.
8. Feed syrup.
Wait 10 days
- Collect pollen.
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Wednesday May 6:
The brood on the blue frame is at least 10 days old.
In the donor colony:
1. Remove the pollen trap. We have been collecting pollen for 4 weeks and 3 days.
2. Confine the Queen on the Gold frame.
3. Put the Gold frame centrally in the brood nest.
4. Put the Blue frame on the edge of the brood.
5. Feed syrup and pollen.
Wait 4 days
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Saturday May 9:
The brood on the blue frame is at least 14 days old. It will not be used for emergency Queen cells.
It will all be capped so it requires no nurse feeding. It will produce extra nurse bees in ten days.
If the Queen has laid in the cups then:
1. Put the Queen to one side in a box.
2. Make up a queen raising nuc with _lots_ of young nurse bees.
i.e. shake once over the donor colony, twice over the queen raising nuc.
3. Fit 2 frames of Honey & Pollen in the queen raising nuc.
4. Fit the Blue frame in the queen raising nuc.
5. Fit 9 Q-cups in a frame and place in the queen raising nuc.
6. Feed syrup and pollen.
7. Close the queen raising nuc and site some yard away from the donor colony.
In the donor colony:
8. Release the queen.
9. Feed syrup.
Wait 7 days
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Saturday May 16:
The brood on the blue frame is at least 21 days old. Most of it will have emerged.
1. Look in the queen raising nuc; count the sealed Q-cells.
2. Make up the mating nucs. You may need 8!
3. Put one sealed Q-cell in each mating nuc.
4. Keep one Q-cell in the queen raising nuc.
4. Shake all the queen raising nuc bees off their frames and spray with syrup.
5. Put a cup full of bees in each mating nuc.
6. The remaining bees go back in the queen raising nuc.
7. Feed the mating nucs and the queen raising nuc with syrup and pollen.
8. Put the mating nucs where the queens need to be for mating.
i.e. where the drones are.
Wait 3 weeks.
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Saturday June 6:
1. Look for eggs in the mating hives.
2. If there are eggs then the Queen is laying.
3. Plan how to use these 9 newly mated Queens!