After completing two courses at the University of California, Davis Mary devoted a full year to mastering instrumental insemination – while still managing 100 plus hives and 15 out yards. We decided to sell our instrumental insemination equipment after we discovered the effort required to master instrumental insemination was taking time away from our normal … Read more
We have completed 7 grafting sessions – so far we have grafted approximately 400 eggs this season. Yesterday was day 6 of the Cloake Board method for grafting session 7. I had to remove the slide and close the main entrance which was originally rotated 180 degrees on day 3. Since it was raining I … Read more
It is raining AGAIN, and we want to graft from our best Carniolan queen tomorrow. So we set up a tent over the cell builder hive so we could work through the rain. Today is day 4 of the Cloake Board method of queen rearing – we need to close up the top half of the cell … Read more
On Day 6 we had to check the results of our 1st grafting and had to remove the Cloake Board slide and close the rear entrance of the cell builder. Our new queen cells are looking great. We used an old golf umbrella to protect the bees from an unrelenting rain. This is the 1st … Read more
Here is an example of how the frames should be stacked in a cell builder hive if you are using the Cloake Board method of Honey Bee Queen rearing:
Here is a sample schedule in spreadsheet format if you are using the Cloake Board Method of Queen Rearing (Sue Cobey) :
Morning: This morning Mary and I want separate directions. She took care of bank deposits and customer follow-ups and I went to our glass supplier and picked up $1,300 worth of glassware and caps. Here is what our four-wheel drive looked liked when I got home. Afternoon: This afternoon we began moving our summer mating … Read more