AS Question

[Cussword]

If do an AS using brood boxes,(I don't know the name) ie, put queen with help in a separate box on original site, moving other box with the rest side to side regaining flying bees etc, I'm less likely to lose too much of the honey?
Is there a way to do anything similar with a nuc, and not lose much honey?
Sorry for the very basic, (possibly stupid) question.


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[jenkinsbrynmair]

I think if you find QC's in a nuc then it way past time they should be in a full hive. They won't have much room to store honey anyway so the 'loss' would be minimal regardless. In this case I would do things a bit different just split the nuc leaving the queen on one frame of brood and the rest all foundation in a nuc three feet away and leave the rest in a nuc with the QC thus starting again basically. If they get stores bound later, take some of the full frames away. I actually had a nuc a few years ago that was waiting for the queen to mate got so full of stores they wered in a full sized hive with a super on before she started laying.

 

[Cussword]

Sorry ,
What I meant was could I do an AS using a nuc instead of a second bb?
I've seen a QC, but I don't want to tie up my only spare deep doing an AS.
If I take out the queen and put her in a nuc, then it would be some time before any new queen would emerge, mate, and start to lay.
Forgive me if there's something obvious that I'm not seeing.



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[Cussword]

I've been looking at Wally Shaw, his Snelgrove 2 (modified).
Could I do something similar with a nuc?
Instead of 2 frames on the old stand, in the original BB, could I have 4 in there, and the queen with the other frames in a nuc?

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[enrico]

Not really, the nuc box will never be big enough. They will abscond or run out of space in days. Buy another brood box!
E

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I've been looking at Wally Shaw, his Snelgrove 2 (modified).
Could I do something similar with a nuc?
Instead of 2 frames on the old stand, in the original BB, could I have 4 in there, and the queen with the other frames in a nuc?

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The trouble is, you need to try and follow his whole plan according to Wally and Jenny, the only failures they've heard of is when the plan hasn't been followed precisely. It may work if you put the nuc and two frames for the fliers for part one (should be enough space) then, a few days after stage two and running the queen back in with the flyers putting all the strongest frames with QC's into the nuc (without changing their position and then giving queenie on her new empty frames the brood box back.
But don't take my word on any of this, it's not advice only an idea as I have only just started playing with the Wally Shaw A/S method.

 

[Vortex]

If do an AS using brood boxes,(I don't know the name) ie, put queen with help in a separate box on original site, moving other box with the rest side to side regaining flying bees etc, I'm less likely to lose too much of the honey?
Is there a way to do anything similar with a nuc, and not lose much honey?
Sorry for the very basic, (possibly stupid) question.


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If you can locate the queen, then yes you can move her to the nuc leaving the original hive where it is.
Make sure you move her with a couple of frames of brood, one of which needs to be a frame of brood near to hatching, and a frame of stores.
I have inadvertently moved queens this way a couple of times, not always being able to find her ladyship, and discovered my mistake the following inspection.
The times I've done it I've not had any issues, the bees destroy the QCs moved to the nuc (in your case leave the QC in the original hive) and the original queen continues to lay in any available space.
You will need to hive her quicker than you would with a virgin as they will rapidly outgrow the nuc.