Many things in beekeeping do not "go according to plan" and the supply
and demand of mated queens sometimes do not coincide.
If it is
a shortage there is little we can do except start another batch...but
a surfeit of queens can be temporarily stored by a technique known as
"queen banking".
Providing that the existing queen is kept out
of reach by a the use of a normal queen excluder, a honey super is a
reasonable place to store a few queens. Many types of cage can be
used...I have used hair roller type cages, so called "nursery cages"
and a progression of ever larger types.
The type I am using at present
is the largest of these (only 3 will fit in a B.S. shallow frame)
overall size 110 mm wide x 91 mm tall the wooden parts are 28 mm
wide and this gives a 29 mm width including the mesh. The size is
due to two different regions or compartments
within the cage the first of these is the cage proper with internal
dimensions of 51mm x 65mm x 28mm and 8 mesh outer panels. There is
a recess in the top of this portion that is shaped to accept a
wooden cell plug and a tapered boring is available for the fitting of
a 13mm x 13mm dia "marshmallow" plug (for release) or a cork for
containment.
The remaining part is covered with zinc queen excluder
(to help make the frame with installed cages "transparent to bees")
The wooden partition between the two sections has three conical holes
two with a 4mm tip diameter that bees cannot pass through and one with
an 8mm tip diameter that has a small piece of excluder fitted across
(this allows workers free access but retains the queen). The idea
behind the extra small holes is to provide "blind alleys" that will
stop some bees in the event of a "mad dash" to get at the queen and
allow the workers and queen to lick each other.
If I make
more of these cages I will incorporate a small aluminium sliding
blanking plate to cover the hole that has the queen excluder slot
accross it. This modification is in the light of information given
in the Steve Taber/Albert Knight/John Dews Method under the heading
Queen Introduction.
