I published "The Practical Queen Breeder". I bought a copy from Amazon but today it shows as not available... not sure why. It happened after I posted the look inside file so maybe it's in a state where it's being updated now. Anyway you can get it from Barnes and Nobel if Amazon doesn't fix the issue. Or any other online bookseller.
I put a drone on the cover because, of course, they are the actual queen breeders, and I wanted to point out their importance. I put a caption on it just so some smart alec doesn't try to imply I can't tell it's not a queen...
This is my current method of queen breeding and rearing after many years of trying various techniques. It is the one I find most reliable in getting cells started, finished and mated.
My intent for this book is a step by step of how I do queen breeding and queen rearing. Some of this will be why I do it, but mostly it will be what I do. I may mention other methods in passing, but mostly this is just what I currently do. I have done many things in the past and most of them worked more or less. This method is the one I find most reliable in getting cells started, finished and mated. This is not to say that other methods don’t work. A lot of what works and doesn’t has to do with circumstances. If there is a flow you don’t seem to be able to do anything wrong. If there is a dearth things become quite difficult and sometimes you don’t seem to be able to do anything right. The reason I do this method is that it has the most success in my experience under adverse conditions as well as good conditions.
http://www.xstarpublishing.com#ThePracticalQueenBreeder
It's also available in an ebook.
I saw this frenzy going on and turned the cover over to block the entrance. They were doing this same thing before I blocked it. They would pile up until they would fall in clumps. I slowed it down to try to see it better.
I consider propolizing a good trait for bees (maybe not for the beekeeper). Here is a mating nuc I found this year. The drilled hole is about 5/8". The reduced hole is about 5/16".
It wasn't working right and then it would and then it wouldn't. This is what I found. It couldn't get out, so I left it and used another smoker. It was finally out after two days.
We needed to feed because of a dearth and we still needed to finish building up the 8 frame nucs for winter. We bought 50 six gallon buckets and bought 3,450 pounds of sugar in 25 lb bags. We worked out the maximum strength we could do with hot water from my tap (140 F) and not have it crystallize out. We put one 25 pound bag in each bucket with a heaping tablespoon of ascorbic acid, then 18 pints of water and stir it with a five gallon paint stirrer. After 10 to 30 minutes we stir it again.
