Requeening colonies at Jerrabomberra Wetlands Thursday 8 March 11 am – 4 pm
The club apiary ‘early autumn’ requeening program is now in full swing.
Following up on queen marking on the 21st of February and straightforward making of queens on the 28th, our heavy lifter team will be requeening colonies headed by ye olde queens on Thursday 8 March. But only after a full disease check beforehand. As Eric Davies pointed out in his autumn hive closing down presentation to the February club meeting we wouldn’t want to put an expensive new queen into a diseased colony we then had to destroy now would we.
We will be papering on nucs with newly established queens. We’ve already nabbed one colony with spotty brood (and a tad cranky) that had superseded its 2016 queen over the summer honey flow. Papering on a nuc is a sure fire way of establishing new queens in colonies and it sure beats direct requeening of colonies.
And it buys you time. There is never any hurry to find that old queen when you are faced with a large packet of new queens that Australia Post has just dropped on your doorstep. Also you avoid any risk of your bees going queenless and brood rearing is not interrupted.
All welcome to join the heavy lifters team. The only prerequisite is that you know how to pick up a hive tool and that you want to dig in to help. Just text or email Alan to be put on the list
Alan Wade
0417 775 201
alanlynnewade@me.com
Hi Alan, I am very interested in attending the above day when a new date has been announced, I just hope I won’t be working. I didn’t attend the queen marking on the Wed 21/2 though, does that matter? I can pick up a hive tool and am willing to help and learn. I clicked on the link above but it doesn’t exist.
Sharon.
Sharon
Hope you can make it on Thursday the 8th. We’ll be disease checking and requeening as many colonies as possible.
Alan