The Nicot system is a modernized version of the Gener honeycomb. It allows you to remove the uterus without contact with the larvae, which greatly simplifies the work. The design has certain features and a complete set. You need to use it according to the rules. You can make the Nicot system yourself.
Design features, equipment
The Nicot system is designed to hatch 30 queens as standard. Its main part is represented by a cassette - an artificial honeycomb. It provides 110 cells (11x10), where bowls are inserted. One side of the cassette is covered by a separation grid, and the other is covered by a cover (plexiglass). The uterus sits under this cover.
In addition to the cassette, the Nicot system includes:
- artificial bowls - 100 pieces;
- holders for bowls - 30 pieces;
- plinths for the grafting frame - 30 pieces;
- cells for queen cells - 30 pieces.
The complete set also includes instructions for use. If necessary, the rest of the system components can be purchased, including the Nicot cassette itself. Artificial bowls are sold separately in sets of 25 to 200. The standard set of Nicot weighs 0.58 kg.
The cover of the cassette made of plexiglas provides a hole and a plug on it. The separation grid also has an opening where the uterus sits.
Advantages of the system
The Nicot system has several important advantages:
- almost 100% egg laying in the cassette;
- non-contact transplantation of larvae onto the grafting frame - the process is simplified, the absence of contact excludes damage to the larvae;
- accelerated process of grafting the larvae on the frame;
- removal of high-grade and highly productive uterus;
- simultaneous exit of young queens;
- the possibility of obtaining queens even in the absence of experience and fundamental knowledge in this area;
- multiple use of the system - it is sufficient to clean it in a timely manner, lost elements are easy to replace.
Features and rules of use, instructions for use
Using the Nicot system is quite simple. It is enough to observe the following algorithm:
- Place the cassette on the frame.
- Make a grafting frame.
- Clean and polish the cassette.
- Put the uterus in the cassette.
- Form a caregiver family.
- Place the grafting frame in the formed bee colony.
- Check the reception of larvae.
- Cull queen cells.
- Select mature queen cells.
- Check the reception of the uterus at its exit and further egg laying.
Each stage has its own characteristics and nuances.
Installing the cassette and preparing the grafting frame
To secure the cassette to the frame, you need 2 screws, for which there are special holes. It is possible to fix the cassette in different ways - on a frame with sushi or wax, an empty frame (an upper bar is enough for fastening).
After installing the cassette, fixing the plinths is required - brown parts, where 4 small holes are made. They are partly attached to the top bar, partly to an additional horizontal bar (optional). As a grafting frame, you can take any frame, including those with defects. No bottom bar required.
After all these preparations, it is necessary to remove the plexiglass cover from the back of the cartridge and install artificial bowls. Holders for them are installed on plinths. It is recommended to place their hangers perpendicular to the frame bars - this makes it easier to remove the holders in the future.
When using the cassette, it is not allowed to heat up over 65 degrees. Otherwise there is a risk of deformation and further unusability.
Placement of the vaccination frame in the kindergarten family
It is important to prepare the family-educator correctly - the success of the process largely depends on this. After its formation and preparation of the vaccination frame, proceed as follows:
- Prepare a warm and humid room.
- When hatching larvae, place the frame with the cassette in the ramonos, be sure to cover it with a damp cloth - this measure prevents the larvae from drying out, which is detrimental to them.
- Bring Ramonos into the room.
- Remove from the cassette the back cover for selecting larvae - the choice is usually determined by their size, the amount of milk around (the more the better).
- Transfer the bowls to the frame - you need to act quickly so that the larvae do not cool down and do not dry, otherwise they can be destroyed.
- Place the prepared frame in ramonos and cover with a damp cloth.
- Transport the frame with one-day larvae to the apiary, install it in the nest with the kindergarten family - the well for the frame should be formed in advance.
- Provide a cover-canvas, a feeding trough with syrup or well-fed - the amount of feeding should be small (it is recommended to start feeding the educator family a week before the main process).
A warm and humid environment is not necessary for performing the required actions. Such a microclimate is organized if the weather is bad or spring withdrawal is carried out. In warm weather during the summer, you can perform all the necessary actions on site.
Larval control
The entire process of removing the uterus with the Nicot system must be controlled. It is imperative to track how the larvae were taken for uterine content. The timing for control should be determined in accordance with the uterine hatching calendar.
Tracking the process is easy. To do this, you need to raise the lap in the previously opened hive and remove the grafting frame. It is necessary to count the queen cells that are already drawn by the bees - their number corresponds to the number of larvae taken. Depending on the results obtained, the procedure can be repeated if necessary.
Culling of queen cells and selection of mature queens
It is necessary to start this stage when the queen cells will be sealed. The specifics of the process depend on personal preference and goals. Only even and large queen cells should remain, and small and uneven specimens are considered marriage, so it is necessary to get rid of them.
It is necessary to select mature queen cells one day before their release. For safety reasons, you should place them in cages, which allows you to save the rest of the individuals when the first one comes out.
After the conclusion of mature queen cells in cells, there are several options:
- to form layering from a family-educator (base - mature queen cells);
- place mature individuals in queenless bee colonies (layering);
- withstand queen cells before the release of infertile individuals.
Cells should be used only for mature mother liquor at the exit. If applied too early, there is a risk of damaging the development of the queens, as their heating becomes more difficult. This factor is especially important in the spring.
An excellent option is to divide the parenting family into layers, each of which is provided with a mother. The queens were brought up by these bees, therefore they are extremely rarely rejected.
To determine the queen cells at the desired points, it is necessary to remove them together with the cells on the holders for the bowls. To do this, the holder must be taken by the shoulders, which will also be a support when installing queen cells between the frames.
Control of the exit of the uterus, its reception and oviposition
Control measures make it possible to assess the quality of the resulting offspring, as well as the success of its main functions. When placing queens in small nucleus families, it is worth remembering that the flight will be faster.
Watch the video instruction on the use of the Nicot system for the withdrawal of queen bees:
DIY making
You can make the Nicot system yourself. To do this, you can use a plywood board or plastic. The thickness of the material should be 10-15 mm. The standard size of the cassette is 248.4x174.5x108 cm. The base must be marked and holes made: 11 along the horizontal row and 10 along the vertical.
Be sure to carry out the separation grid and cover, in which there should be holes with plugs. Bowls and holders can be purchased separately or made by hand. For bowls, wax and a suitable shape of wood are used. This blank must be dipped in water, then in molten wax - repeat the algorithm another 1-2 times. Then remove the resulting bowl from the workpiece - the process takes a few seconds.
Watch the video showing the do-it-yourself Nicot system:
System cleansing and subsequent transplantation of the uterus into a cassette
Sot Nicot is reusable. A prerequisite is its purification. This process is carried out before planting the uterus, as well as after prolonged storage of an unexploited structure.
The system is cleared according to the following algorithm:
- Fix the honeycomb in the frame - the bowls should be installed.
- Remove the separation grille.
- Treat the honeycomb with honey (full of dewdrops).
- Put the honeycomb in the bee family, which is planned to be used as a mother.
- The bees themselves will clean and polish the honeycomb; it is advisable to leave the structure for this purpose in a brood nest for at least a day.
This procedure, in addition to cleaning and polishing the structure, has another meaning. During work, the bees get used to the honeycomb, which is foreign in the nest. The system absorbs the smell of the bee nest and heats up to its temperature. This greatly facilitates the process of replanting the uterus.
The uterus is inserted into the cassette after it has been cleansed. For this, it is better to use a cage so as not to damage the insect. Before catching the uterus, you need to put the dividing grid on the cassette and remove the plug, and then:
- Place the cage with the uterus in the opening in the lattice separator.
- After the uterus enters the honeycomb, close the plug.
- Check the tightness of the grating separator to the front wall and the cover to the back of the structure - if there are gaps, there is a risk of the uterus running off.
- Install the frame with the cartridge in the nest to the open brood - there should be sufficient distance to the next cell so that the bees can pass.
Free movement of bees between the combs is necessary for feeding the queen - workers calmly pass to her through the separator lattice. The uterus itself at this time is engaged in laying eggs.
It is recommended to leave the queen in the comb for a day, but several times during this time the process should be monitored - it may take several hours to sow the required number of eggs. The first control must be carried out after 4 hours - in the absence of scarlet or a small number of eggs, wait a day.
If the honeycomb is successfully reddened, the uterus must be released, and the frame with the cassette should be left for ripening - after 3 days, one-day-old larvae will appear, the bowls with which are moved to the grafting frame.
The Nicot system is a fairly simple design that you can make with your own hands. It provides the excretion of the queens with certain advantages. The use of such a system does not cause difficulties, therefore it is suitable even for beginners in beekeeping.