Two queen colony managemet

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The two-queen colonies (omitting 1936 and 194.2) produced on anaverage 111 pounds more honey than single-queen colonies. When theseasonal average yields for single-queen colonies were multiplied bythe respective numbers of two-queen colonies for each year, the

weighted average showed a difference of 106 pounds in favor of thetwo-queen colonies. During the period 1938-194-5 the two-queencolonies averaged 156 pounds more honey than package colonies. Whenthe number of package colonies was weighted to the number of two-queen colonies for each year, the difference in production betweenthe two groups amounted to 162 pounds. The production figures givenin table 1 express the difference in yields on a relative basis

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Because queens of all grace: of stock were used, the potentialdifferences between the three classes of colonies can be bettermeasured by the maximum yields than by the average yields. Further-more, there were some variations in the time and method of startingthe two-queen colonies. The maximum yields of two-queen coloniesaveraged 171 pounds more honey than those of single-queen coloniesover a period of 10 years and 1?5 pounds more than the best packagecolonies over a period of S years

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The performance of any colony is affected by the queen's capacityto lay eggs and her ability to produce throughout the season, theinitial population at the beginning of the active season, the avail-able pollen supply, and the time and length of the honey flow.Seasonal conditions and some variations in the management over the11-year period influenced the performance of colonies to a consider-able degree. Queen failure prevented some two-queen colonies fromdeveloping maximum populations for the honey flow. It seems probablethat even larger yields could have been obtained from the two-queencolonies had the most successful practices been applied equally through-out the period.

No attempt was made to carry colonies through several productiveseasons under the same management. If this had been done, the two-queen colonies would have had an advantage because of their largepollen reserves. Approximately equivalent colonies wsre selected forboth groups at the beginning of each season. Since the colonies were

usually distributed among several apiaries, the yields are indicativeonly of the production within a Ideality. Minor differences in thehoney flows were recognized within the ares. However, the generalaverages tend to equalize the variations due to location, stock, andother factors.


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Hive Equipment

In these tests on comparative yield, 10-frame Langstroth hiveequipment was used exclusively. Under the dry conditions existingin the Intermountain States, 7 hive bodies gave adequate storagespace, provided the honey was removed and extracted weekly duringthe main honey flow. Under the more humid conditions of the NorthCentral States, 8, 9, and sometimes 10 bodies were required to pro-vide storage space for the thinner nectar. Hives 7 stories high canbe worked satisfactorily, but few beekeepers Will care to operate8- to 10-story hives even if justified by the increase in yield.

In preliminary tests a shallow type of hive body for both brood

chambers and supers has been shown to have advantages when intensivemanagement practices are applied to either single- or two-queencolonies. Shallow brood chambers came into disrepute because theywere used to restrict brood rearing in order to force most of thehoney into the supers. The wide use of 2-story brood chambers hasproved that hive capacity is far more important than the size orshape of the brood frames. Even the beekeepers who prefer brood framesdeeper than standard now generally use either one and a half or twodeep brood chambers.

The size and shape of the hive unit has little effect on production

when sufficient space is provided for brood rearing, food reserves,and the storage of surplus honey. Success is determined by the skillof the operator in providing hive space for the colony at the righttime and in the right place.

Because of an expected improvement in stock, the use of two queens,and the greater control- over colony development through the effectiveuse of pollen supplements or substitutes, changes in hive equipmentappear desirable. The size and design of the future hive unit willeventually be determined by its adaptability and the ease with whichit can be used to produce maximum crops.

A hive providing greater capacity closer to the ground isdesirable for the production of crops approximating 400 to 500 or morepounds. More efficient management is possible when all hive units areuniform in size and therefore interchangeable. Super combs of a depththat will be filled and sealed more rapidly than present standard combsare needed to hasten the removal of surplus so that ample storage spacecan be maintained. A shallow hive body helps to limit the height ofthe hive and reduce the gross weight of full supers. Beekeepers shouldwelcome such a change even though they must handle more units.


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A hive body 20 inches square by 6 5/8 inches deep that holds 12Modified Da dant shallow frames (1 1/2-inch spacing), or 13 if thestandard 1 3/6-inch spacing is used, will meet the foregoing require-ments without digressing radically from the present type of hive equip- '

ment. The 1 3/8-inch spacing is desirable. After the frames becomepropolized, their number can be reduced to 12 in the brood chambersto allow greater ease of manipulation. The present top bar used inModified Dadant shallow frames is approximately 1/4 inch thicker thandesirable, but the standard thickness of lumber now available makes itthe most economical top bar to use. Shallow bodies make it possibleto substitute body manipulations for many colony adjustments whichordinarily have to be made by manipulating the frames of standard ordeeper equipment.

Limited tests have shown the advantage of the shallow equipment

both for the productive season and in the overwintering of largecolonies. The space between brood chambers favors the intercommunica-tion of bees within the winter cluster. Eleven-frame Modified Dadantshallow supers or even standard 10-frame shallow supers can be substi-tuted, provided a sufficient number are used to give adequate hivecapacity. The height of the hive necessary to accomplish this is thelimiting factor. The 3/8-inch top bars of the standard shallow framesare too light for the maintenance of good brood combs. One shouldprobably use standard shallow supers with Langstroth brood chamberseven though it means mixed equipment.

Organization and Management of Two-Queen Colonies

It is essential that strong colonies be used for establishing two-queen units. The division should be made as early as the condition ofthe colonies and the available pollen supply will permit uninterruptedbrood rearing. To obtain maximum production the overwintered coloniesshould contain 7 to 8 pounds of bees and 6 to 10 frames (standard) ofbrood 5 to 7 weeks before the honey flow. It is better to make thedivisions 1 to 2 weeks later under favorable conditions than to makesmall divisions or to make them when pollen is not available for broodrearing.

The colony organization and important stages of the seasonalmanagement for two-queen colonies are diagrammed for standard equipmentin figure 2 and for the square type of shallow hive in figure 3.


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Although the principles of two-queen colony management will bediscussed in terms of standard equipment, they may be readily adaptedto other sizes or styles of hive equipment. Colonies that were

wintered in hives with upper auger-hole entrances should be reorganized2 to 3 weeks before they are divided (fig. 2, A) to allow the bees timeto become accustomed to the lower entrance, and thus prevent excessivedrifting away from the lower brood nest when the division is establishedon top*

A strong colony is first divided temporarily into two colony unitsfor the purpose of introducing the second queen. The old queen is con-fired to the lower brood chamber with an excluder (fig. 2, B). Thischamber should contain reserve honey and pollen, half the brood (mostlyeggs and larvae), and approximately 4-0 percent of the population. Two

supers of drawn comb are added above the excluder. The inner cover,with the escape hole screened, is placed above these supers and theupper brood nest placed on top. The upper brood chamber should containthree or more combs of emerging brood, plenty of honey and pollen, andapproximately 60 percent of the original population. Some of the beeswill drift back to the lower entrance, but this division tends to givea fairly equal balance to the two colony units. The more mature broodis used in the upper unit, because fewer bees will be required to pro-tect this brood, and the division will be strengthened by emerging bees.A 1-inch auger hole just below the front handhold provides an entrancefor the upper colony.

The young queen may be introduced by any of the customary methods.The rearing of a queen from queen cells in the division results in lossof valuable brood-rearing time. The new queen may be introduced bythe mailing-cage method, but the losses that usually result tend tooffset the advantage of its simplicity. The direct introduction oflaying queens from nuclei has proved the most successful method underall conditions.

From 7 to 10 days before the divisions are made, queens from theSouth should be sprayed into small nuclei to provide the laying queens. UjThree queens can be purchased with each 2-pound package, or the queensalone may be obtained and introduced to package bees shaken from thestronger overwintered colonies.

Tj Farrar, C. L. New recommendations for the installation of packagebees, using a spray and direct-release method. U. S. Pur. Ent. andPlant Quar. E-4-27, 7 pp., illus. 1938. [Processed.]


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There is a real advantage in maintaining throughout the seasonfrom 10 to 20 percent as many nuclei with laying queens as there areproducing colonies. If shallow equipment is used, a queen nucleus

can be started on top of each colony. When the young queen is layingwell, the nucleus can be strengthened by raising up a chamber contain-ing principally sealed and emerging brood with plenty of young bees.When uniting these bees to the nucleus in the absence of a honey flow,the operator should spray both units with sugar sirup.

When laying queens are available in nuclei, a queen with her broodand

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bees is united by the spray method to the upper unit when thecolony is divided. Queen acceptance is nearly 100 percent, and bothqueens continue egg laying without interruption. The nuclei may berestocked to provide replacement queens. Queens that show up poorlyin the nuclei should not be introduced to producing colonies.

As soon as the top queen has a well-established brood nest,usually 10 to 14 days after introduction, the screened inner covercan be removed. In this uniting of the two colonies, the bees inboth brood nests should be sprayed with sugar sirup. The upper queenmay require a second set of brood combs at this time, thus making thecolony five stories high. Both upper brood chambers should have auger-hole entrances. The upper and lower brood nests must both have reservehoney and pollen even after uniting. Brood rearing may suffer or thebees may starve in one, even though the other has plenty of food.

As the colony populations increase and room is required for honeystorage, the organization diagrammed in figure 2 t C_, should be maintained.Ten standard combs provide plenty of space for a good queen in thelower brood nest, as very little honey is stored here. Supers inpositions 2 and 3 should never be allowed to become more than halffilled with honey. Too much honey here will cause the lower brood nestto become honey bound and the hive will operate as two separate colonies.When these supers become partially filled with honey, they should beraised above the upper brood nest and replaced by empty supers. Theposition of the two chambers used for the upper brood nest should beinterchanged at each manipulation, the heaviest chamber and most of theimmature brood being placed in the fourth position with the sealed and

emerging brood in the fifth.

Honey storage commences within and above the upper brood nest. Thelower colony tends to supply bees to the upper one, where honey storageis dominant. Most of the colony's flight activity may be through theauger holes of the upper brood chambers. Frequent interchanging of theupper brood chambers permits the queen to expand her brood nest upward,where she can use the space made available by emerging bees. It alsostimulates the removal of considerable honey surrounding the young broodput down, thus making more space available for the queen when the broodchambers are again interchanged. The movement of ripened honey from thebrood nest hastens the finishing of the supers so they can be extractedand returned for refilling.


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During a good honey flow the colony must be manipulated every6 to 8 days to maintain the optimum organization as diagrammed infigure 2,C. Supers with empty combs from which the honey has beenextracted are placed between the two brood nests. Those. containing

some honey in positions 2 and 3 are placed above the upper broodnest for finishing. During heavy honey flows, especially when thenectar is thin, one or two additional supers may be needed above theupper brood nest to keep the supers in positions 2 and 3 comparative-ly free of honey.

Colonies should be united back to single-queen status approxi-mately k weeks prior to, the expected end of the flow (fig. 2, D)

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It is seldom necessary to locate the queens. The upper queen usuallysurvives, but if the lower one does, it is likely that she is thebetter individual. With three brood chambers at the disposal of

the surviving queen, manipulation is seldom necessary for the remain-der of the season.

Super space should be provided generously. These double coloniesmay make daily gains of 20 to 30 pounds under flows that permit single-queen colonies to gain 8 to 12 pounds. Plenty of space is needed forthe incoming nectar in addition to that required for storing honey.Combs should be extracted and the super returned for refilling as soonas they are finished. The use of shallow equipment hastens the finish-ing of supers so that space can be provided when and where it is mostneeded.

When colonies are united to a single-queen status, they buildup pollen reserves rapidly if pollen is available in the field. Theyhave the population of two colonies and the brood of only one queen.For the same reason honey storage is at the most efficient level forthe number of bees in the colony.

When the supers are removed at the close of the season, thecolony should be left in three stories for overwintering (fig. 2, E )

.

The three-story colony should contain 80 or more pounds of honey andas much pollen as possible. In standard equipment such a colony shouldhave a gross weight of at least

175pounds. Colonies may not use all

of the reserve honey, but this practice provides the best insurancethat the colonies will be ready for the next honey flow. Honey that isnot consumed will add to the next year's honey crop by reducing theamount required to build up the reserve.


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The Mechanics of Two-Queen Colony Manipulation

It is essential that the hive stands be level and situated onfirm ground. The bottom boards should be close to the ground. Two-queen colonies can be manipulated more easily if two men worktogether. After the bees at the entrances have been smoked and themetal cover has been removed, the hive, supported by a man on eachside, can be tipped over backwards and worked in a horizontal position.The propolis will prevent the hive bodies from slipping, even whilethe heavy aeven- to nine-story hives are lowered to the ground.

The top brood nest should immediately be separated from thesupers above and below it to prevent the queen from leaving the broodchambers. To reassemble the hive, the bottom board is placed on thehive stand. A glance beneath the lower brood nest before it is putin place is usually sufficient to see whether everything is normal.

If the intervening supers contain considerable honey, one or twoempty supers should be added before placing the heaviest broodchamber from the upper brood nest. This should have considerableunsealed brood in five to six frames. The upper brood chamber mustprovide room for the queen to lay, either empty comb or frames ofemerging brood. The first two supers above the upper brood nestshould not be more than one-third to one-half full. When necessaryto provide additional room, an empty super should be added on top.

• Working the hives in a horizontal position does not eliminatethe necessity of lifting the hive bodies back into position. How-ever, it does reduce the labor of manipulation. The upper queen is

less likely to run into the supers, and the bees are more gentle.The returning field bees are confused and offer little resistance.Those in the top hive bodies are not driven down into the lowerpart of the hive, where they would later be disturbed under a dis-organized and congested condition. Ill-tempered bees are usuallyencountered in the lower part of the hive when working from thetop down

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The Use of Queen Excluders and Foundation

A queen excluder over the lower brood nest is a necessity.Another queen excluder below the upper brood nest will preventthe upper queen from running down into the intervening supers whenthe colony is manipulated. Its use saves time in hive manipulationbecause the operator knows the location of the upper queen. A thirdexcluder over the upper brood nest may be used to advantage undersome conditions, but it tends to force more honey into the broodnest.


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The upper queen can be maintained in her proper position with-out excluders by the timely rotation of the brood chambers. Mostof the mature brood is placed above to provide space for the queento expand her brood nest normally upward.

Two-queen colonies can be handled most satisfactorily whendrawn combs are available for both brood chambers and supers. Duringthe main honey flow, foundation can be drawn between the two broodnests. Only the lower queen should be restricted with an excluderwhen the supers contain foundation. The use of foundation sometimesforces so much honey into the upper brood nest that empty combsmust be substituted for those filled with honey in order to give thequeen room.

Queen Supers e dure, Replacements, Swarming, and Increase

The problem of supers edure is no greater in two-queen than insingle-queen colonies except that, when one queen is poor and queencells are started, cells usually will be built in the other broodnest.

When a new queen is introduced to either brood nest, the twonests must be completely separated, as when the original division ismade. After all queen cells have been removed, a nucleus with agood laying queen may be united by the spray method. If there is ahoney flow, the screened inner cover can be exchanged for a queenexcluder at the next manipulation without spraying the bees*

Swarming is not a problem when good queens are maintained inboth brood nests, and space for brood expansion and honey storage isprovided by timely manipulations. Since the two-queen colony mayhave 25 to 30 pounds of bees, a great loss will result if the colonyis allowed to swarm* The wings of both queens should be clipped.If the colony attempts to swarm, both queens may be found in thelower brood nest. One of the queens may be returned to the upperbrood nest when the conditions that caused swarming have been cor-rected. However, when the queens are shrunken, the drastic treatmentof making a shook-swarm with one of the queens on a new set ofcombs probably is best. The other queen, with all the brood andadhering bees, can be set to one side to allow many of the bees todrift back to the original hive location. When both queens are lay-ing normally, the hives can be recombined in a manner suitable to thehoney flow (fig. 2,D).


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Increase from two-queen colonies is not generally recommended,because the advantage of large pollen reserves for wintering strongcolonies may be lost. If other single-queen colonies are storinglarge pollen reserves, the two-queen organization can be retaineduntil the end of the honey flow instead of uniting back to a single-queen status. They may be wintered as double colonies by removingthe lower queen excluder and placing a super of honey in dark combsabove the lower brood nest. A moving screen is placed above this,and the upper brood nest set on the screen. The double colony iswintered in four bodies, with the lower half given a reduced bottom-board entrance and the upper half only the auger-hole entrance inthe top chamber. The auger hole^ in the second and third hive bodiesare closed. A commercial cooper- or who has used this plan success-fully during several seasons believes that less honey is requiredthan when the colonies are maintained separately. His bees have hadabundant pollen reserves, and both the upper and lower colonies have

wintered strong.

Weak colonies in the spring may be set above good colonies inthe manner used to organize two-queen colonies by division. An ex-cluder is used beneath the weak colony in place of the inner cover.The bees of both colonies should be sprayed with sugar sirup whenthey are set together. If the weak colony has a good queen, the beesthat move up from the lower colony will enable her to expand broodrearing. If it has a poor queen, nothing is lost as would be thecase where brood or bees from a good colony are taken to strengthen aweak one.

Summary

Two-queen management is based upon the principle that the produc-tion per unit number of bees increases as the population is increased.Two-queen colonies have two chances of remaining queen-right, whichunder commercial management practically eliminates all nonproducingcolonies due to queen failure. Colonies are overwintered with youngqueens and the beekeepers' attention is focused on queen quality atall times. The larger pollen reserves accumulated after the colonieshave been reduced to a single-queen status make it possible to over-winter strong colonies for the next season.

Less equipment is used in producing a given crop of honey than iscustomary under single-queen management. However, there are some limi-tations to the use of standard hive equipment for two-queen colonies

The height of fully equipped two-queen colonies, requires twooperators for their efficient management. Approximately 50 percentmore labor is required per colony but less labor per pound of honeyproduced. Close timing of manipulations is essential to meet the two-queen colony requirements, but this is equally important for the

efficient management of any colonies.


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Surplus Yields in Pounds


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Two queen colony managemet