Elevating Queens Doesn’t Need to be Daunting if You Use the Hopkins Means
Via: Joe Conti
I “blame” editor Jerry Hayes for buying me began in writing concerning the Hopkins Means for elevating queens. Because it took place, some years in the past I used to be taking a look at some knowledge relating to elevating queens and located some references to American Bee Magazine articles written by means of Jerry in 1984 and 1991, espousing a easy way for making queens within the privateness of your individual beeyard! With my interest piqued, it used to be time to learn extra about it, which sooner or later resulted in my in reality the use of it. This text is the 3rd newsletter I’ve accomplished on it, and an in depth description of the process may also be discovered within the booklet The Hopkins Means For Elevating Queens In Your Small Apiary (Conti, 2021; Northern Bee Books, West Yorkshire, UK) and the unique article Want A Queen? Check out The Hopkins Means (Conti, 2021; American Bee Magazine 161:551-553). Then again, in two upcoming problems with Bee Tradition, I am hoping to deliver this solution to gentle another time, and with some up to date pointers.
The Hopkins Means used to be named after New Zealand’s Leader Apiarist Isaac Hopkins who described it in 1911 (Hopkins, 1911). Whilst Hopkins gave credit score to an Austrian beekeeper who first attempted and described it, no identify used to be supplied. Some within the U.S. check with it because the Case way after a 1912 oral presentation by means of H.L. Case in New York, but it surely used to be Hopkins who experimented with it and reported his leads to writing.
Should you’ve learn this a long way, you will have to be interested in elevating some queens. So why may the Hopkins Means be of significance to you? Smartly, if you end up looking to stay beekeeping prices down, and present queen-rearing strategies go away you just a little crushed, perhaps imagine this choice way that will get little or no consideration. Chances are you’ll to find it to be less expensive, more straightforward to do and in all probability extra recommended.
Right here’s a normal situation a beekeeper with a couple of years revel in may to find themselves in. Spring arrives, and you have an interest in supplying your small however rising apiary (10-20 colonies) with an inflow of younger queens, understanding that this may lead to lively colonies. Will have to you purchase from breeders at $30 a queen? If this is the case, you’re going to incur prices anyplace from $300-$600 relying at the selection of colonies. On most sensible of prices, there are some inherent dangers concerned with ordering queens that contain the transport of queens, luck of queen advent and high quality of your new queens.
Or perhaps you’ve observed in bee journals and catalogs all of the fascinating and various contraptions you’ll be able to purchase to supply your individual queens involving the method of grafting. That is the transferring of younger larvae from cells into ‘queen cups’ for the creating queens. This is a method that business queen breeders depend on closely, and is to be had for small scale beekeepers. Then again, after taking a look on the apparatus important to do that, comparable to grafting needles, mobile bars, mobile cups and mobile protectors, along with prices and the specified experience, it sounds as if that making your individual queens isn’t essentially a very simple activity.
Determine 1. Right here I’m maintaining a shim with a horizontal body suspended in it, the fundamental setup for doing the Hopkins Means for elevating queens. Section 2: the step by step process
Are there alternative ways to lift queens with out the prices of both purchasing them outright, or purchasing the grafting apparatus and studying the subtle grafting method? Smartly, the very best and most cost-effective solution to produce extra queens is to take away your present queens, and let every colony re-queen themselves. It is a completely viable way (except for time misplaced in your whole colonies whilst new queens are being made). However in all probability you spotted about part of your colonies have been very susceptible popping out of Iciness, and in point of fact just a few have been thought to be “in point of fact just right” to lift queens from; and perhaps letting the weaker colonies elevate their very own queens isn’t essentially the most productive thought. The concept befell that it’s worthwhile to take away frames of eggs out of your sturdy colony(ies) and position them within the weaker colonies, however this comes on the expense of the sturdy colonies. So how may you keep and use the genetics from sturdy colonies with out affecting them? Input the Hopkins Means. It means that you can produce your individual queens with nearly no price range. The elemental premise is to pick out your most powerful colony (very best queen when it comes to measurement, laying skills, gentleness and hygienic characteristics of her offspring) and take away only a unmarried body of eggs that some other colony will elevate queens from. It’s accomplished with a shim changed to carry this body… in a horizontal place (Determine 1).
Partly 2, I can describe the true method with pointers alongside the way in which. Section 3 will focal point on why the method may also be precious for beekeepers, and the way beekeepers can build up the standard of the drones which might be mating together with your new awesome queens. Music in!
Conti, J.A. 2021. Want A Queen? Check out The Hopkins Means. Amer Bee J 161:551-553.
Conti, J.A. 2021. The Hopkins Means For Elevating Queens In Your Small Apiary. Northern Bee Books, West Yorkshire, UK. 38pp.
Hopkins, L. 1911. Australasian Bee Guide. Any other Means Of Elevating Cells. Wellington, New Zealand: Gordon and Gotch Ltd. 173pp.