I ask Tina about the Miller (graftless) method of Queen rearing and her recent articles in ABJ, then we wander into chat between bee friends of goings on in our apiaries, things we want to try this year and more. Enjoy!
-Leigh
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Patron exclusive detailed show notes include:
What is the Miller Method?
More info and how-to from Tina’s on the Miller method
Article on the Miller Method with illustrations of the special comb cuts.
Handy queen calculator where you fill in the date you graft (or remove the queen in a frame-based split) and it fills in the critical dates such as the cell being ripe and able to be moved to another hive (day 10), when to check back for eggs, etc
Videos from Tina’s Four Corners Bee Association on splits and other topics
Link to Tina’s ABJ article on the Demaree method of swarm management.
(You will need an ABJ subscription to access that article. The subscription gets you access to years of archived issues so it’s a real reference resource!) Not an ABJ subscriber? Subscription info here: https://americanbeejournal.com/subscribers/orderrenew-subscription/
Five Apple’s podcast on the Reverse Doolittle split on Patreon, with links to Tina’s how-to article as well as my own silly drawings of the process.
Queen Breeders we mentioned in the show and their links:
Cory Stevens (MO)
Sourwood Farms (VA)
Hall Apiaries (NH)
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About Beekeeping at FiveApple: Leigh keeps bees in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina (gardening zone 6b). She cares for around a dozen hives in a rural Appalachian highland climate. Colonies are managed for bee health with active selection for vigor, genetic diversity and disease resistance, but without chemical treatments for sixteen years. The apiary is self-sustaining (not needing to buy/catch replacement bees since 2010) and produces honey and nucs most every year.