Rebirth in 1984, starting from beekeeping in the mountains

Chapter 115 Artificial Queen Cell! The Queen of the Bee Colony!
Seeing that these two people's interest was completely piqued.

Fang Hongan smiled faintly, and under the attention of the two people, he began to make the Wangtai candle cup.

Making the queen cell wax cup is an essential basic skill in beekeeping.

Although Fang Hongan hadn't done it for more than ten years before his rebirth.

However, when polishing the queen breeding stick, we must ensure that the size of the polished queen breeding stick is exactly the same as the size of the queen cells of the current bee colonies.

Fang Hongan has gone through multiple rounds of testing.

I have reviewed this skill many times.

At this moment, when I took the king-breeding stick in my hand, a sense of familiarity arose spontaneously.

Fang Hongan held the king-raising stick and first dotted it in the basin of clear water on the right hand side like a dragonfly touching the water.

Then, with a turn of his wrist, he put the king-breeding stick that had just been dipped in water into the small kettle on the small stove, tapped it lightly twice, and then immediately returned it to the basin of clear water.

In this basin of clear water, it is just like a dragonfly skimming the water!
Then I went back to the jug and dipped it...

This dazzling movement made Wang Tong and Fang Chengtao's heads spin.

Just when both of them felt that they were a little overwhelmed, the king-raising stick in Fang Hongan's hand suddenly stopped and fell on the wooden stick.

I saw him just tap it lightly, pause for about two seconds, and then slowly lift it up again.

At first glance, Wang Tong and Fang Chengtao were completely confused.

I don't understand what Fang Hongan is doing with all these actions.

Only when they subconsciously focused their eyes on the wooden stick did they suddenly discover that there was a waxy white hollow object on the place where the King Yu stick had touched it, which looked 80% similar to a miniature cup.

"This is... Wangtai wax cup?"

"Is it done?"

Both of them had a look of amazement on their faces.

"Yeah! It's that simple!"

Fang Hongan smiled faintly, and in a relaxed manner, he tapped the King Breeding Stick in his hand again, and as he raised it again, a second pocket-sized cup appeared...

“That’s how it’s done!”

“It looks quite interesting!”

“It’s not that difficult!”

Wang Tong and Fang Chengtao couldn't help but mutter.

Hearing what they said, Fang Hongan smiled and curled his lips at the two of them: "Then... do you want to try it?"

"I……"

When the two heard Fang Hongan's words, their first reaction was to rush to agree.

But just as they were about to say it, they caught a glimpse of Fang Hongan's squinting smile and immediately stopped the car.

"I... I'd better take another look!"

Fang Chengtao hesitated for a moment and took back his words.

"I...will give it a try!"

Wang Tong scratched his head, but finally agreed reluctantly.

However, the last few words seemed a little weak.

"bring it on!"

He handed the king-raising stick to him and gave up his seat.

After Wang Tong sat down, he did not choose to act rashly right away. He closed his eyes and carefully recalled Fang Hongan's previous operations. After making sure that he had figured out all the steps, he slowly opened his eyes.

Then, he imitated Fang Hongan stroke by stroke, picked up the royal culturing stick, dipped it in water, and then inserted it into the beeswax in the jug...

He knew that his movements were not as precise as Fang Hongan's, so he slowed down every movement. As for the operating procedures, he followed Fang Hongan's procedures word for word.

He tapped the kettle for the last time. When the Wang Yu stick in his hand finally touched the wooden stick, Wang Tong couldn't help but take a deep breath.

then……

He held his breath and slowly raised the king-breeding stick in his hand.

However, except for the place where the king breeding stick and the wooden strip touched, there was a little bit of beeswax stuck to the wooden strip, and the rest of the solidified beeswax was still stuck to the top of the king breeding stick. It did not perfectly stick to the wooden strip after being demoulded like when Fang Hongan was operating it!

"This……"

Wang Tong was a little confused. He scratched his head and couldn't figure out what the problem was.

Subconsciously, he turned to look at Fang Hongan, but only heard Fang Hongan say calmly: "Try again!"

"it is good!"

Wang Tong picked up the king-raising stick again.

Following the previous action, it happened again.

This time, the speed of his hands was obviously much faster.

But this time, it still ended in failure.

"Come again!"

Wang Tong took a breath and picked up the King Breeding Stick again...

In this way, Wang Tong tried several more times.

Without exception, all ended in failure.

In the first few times, it was basically impossible to demold.

But in the next few times, it was able to be demoulded.

But the beeswax cups that were always demolded were either broken or just half a miniature cup...

However, it is in this process of failure.

Wang Tong became more and more courageous as he faced more and more setbacks, and the light in his eyes became brighter and brighter.

"I see!"

"The time the queen breeding stick stays in the beeswax cannot be too long or too short!"

"But this is not the most important thing. The more important thing is actually the step of dipping in water. Dip it evenly!"

"If there are too few, it will be difficult to demould the wax cup! If there are too many, it can be demoulded, but the wax cup will not be complete!"

Wang Tong said this excitedly.

There was suddenly a look of confidence and determination on his face. He picked up the breeding rod again and inserted it confidently. The subsequent movements became quite smooth and decisive.

Finally, tap on the wooden stick and lift it gently.

The next moment, a complete miniature wax cup fell into the water intact.

"call!"

Wang Tong let out a long breath, then couldn't wait to pick up the wooden stick and carefully compared the one he had just completed with the one Fang Hongan had made earlier.

When it is determined that the size and completeness are almost the same.

He couldn't help but grin and looked at Fang Hongan excitedly.

Immediately, he saw Fang Hongan giving him a thumbs up with a warm smile on his face!

He was able to gain Fang Hongan's recognition through his own independent efforts.

This made Wang Tong feel indescribably excited.

However, when he saw the smile on Fang Hongan's face.

Wang Tong always felt something was strange.

It's not that the smile is fake or anything like that.

But...

This smile...

How does it look...

It’s the same smile on his grandfather’s face when he got 100 points in the exam when he was a child and took the test paper home.

The feeling is... exactly the same!

……

the other side.

Watch as Wang Tong successfully made the first Wangtai La bowl.

Fang Chengtao couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

After another moment, after seeing Wang Tong's subsequent attempts were all successful.

He couldn't help but take a deep breath, raised his head and said to Wang Tong: "Hei Zai! Let me try too!"

"Come! Come! Come!"

Wang Tong enthusiastically handed over the wooden stick and the king-training stick in his hand, and then pulled Fang Chengtao to sit in the seat he had just sat in.

Take the tool in your hand.

Fang Chengtao also subconsciously recalled the actions of Fang Hongan and Wang Tong just now, and then tried it.

Because he had heard about Wang Tong's experience, his movements were steadier than when Wang Tong first started.

But unfortunately, the edge of the first wax cup was damaged when it was demolded.

"Ugh!"

Fang Chengtao couldn't help but slap his thigh.

However, although it was regretful, the look in his eyes was still quite excited.

Obviously, the fact that he almost succeeded the first time gave him great confidence.

However, the subsequent attempts left him dumbfounded.

At first, this kind of damage always occurred.

Later, various problems such as being unable to demould, the cup being too small, or being too large, etc. emerged...

Being timid, Fang Chengtao completely lost his composure and his movements became more and more awkward.

Seeing this, Fang Hongan was not in a hurry to correct him. He just cupped his hands and looked on, standing aside and watching the fun.

Today, he deliberately made the royal wax cup in front of Wang Tong and Fang Chengtao. On the one hand, it was naturally because it was indeed necessary for breeding and producing royal jelly; on the other hand, he also wanted to take this opportunity to temper the tempers of these two people.

During this period, especially after Fang Chengtao joined.

They have always been in a very busy state, and Fang Hongan focused more on the technology and skills in training these two people.

In terms of character, he didn't pay as much attention to it as he did when he first brought Wang Tong with him.

During this period, the two of them learned the technical skills of digging out black bees and bee breeding very quickly.

Everything is going smoothly.

But because it went too smoothly, some problems were exposed.

For example, sometimes the heizi Wang Tong would just act recklessly without thinking!

As for Fang Chengtao, he is fine when things go well, but once things go badly, he becomes timid again.

This Wangtai candle cup looks quite simple to make.

But if you want to do it well, there are some skills and tricks involved.

He started with two of them, setting a high standard there.

And then he encouraged the two of them to give it a try, just to take advantage of this opportunity to train them.

Previously, Wang Tong was able to quickly learn from experience after repeated failures and eventually succeed.

That's how much he's grown over this period of time.

Fang Chengtao's current condition is the result of his old illness coming back again.

At the same time, Fang Chengtao tried a few more times, but the results were still unsatisfactory. He scratched his head and found a layer of fine sweat beads on his forehead.

Seeing this scene, Wang Tong couldn't bear to watch it anymore. He came forward and said softly, "Taozi! Don't panic!"

"You do this first... then this..."

"Don't just play it safe when you strike! Be quicker!"

"Don't be afraid... just do it boldly..."

At this time, Wang Tong transformed into the usual role of Fang Hongan and patiently taught Fang Chengtao.

After he said this, Fang Chengtao, who was a little flustered, gradually calmed down after trying a few more times.

According to his teaching.

Fang Chengtao started a new attempt.

After several attempts.

Finally, he succeeded in making a wax cup that met all the standards.

The moment the king-raising stick is successfully and completely demoulded.

Fang Chengtao's face was filled with joy after success.

"Haha! It's done!"

Wang Tong on the side also seemed extremely excited.

Looking at Fang Chengtao's expression, he was filled with relief.

Seeing that these two people were in high spirits.

The purpose of today's training has basically been achieved.

Fang Hongan quietly took out a Wangtai stick and handed it to Wang Tong, leaving the job of making the Wangtai candle cup entirely to the two of them.

He poured the boiled beeswax water into a wooden basin on the side and condensed it.

Then, pour more water into the pot and start boiling the next pot of beeswax.

in this way.

It was almost noon when Fang Hongan finished boiling the three pots of beeswax that he was going to boil that morning.

Looking at Wang Tong and Fang Chengtao, their work was also reaching the final stage.

After continuous summarization and familiarity, the two people are now quite skilled in making Wangtai wax cups, and their success rate is quite high.

Seeing this, Fang Hongan returned to the house and took out the living frame that had been prepared.

This movable frame is somewhat different from the movable frame used to fix honey combs and brood combs.

There are four clips on each of the two columns of the movable frame.

Fang Hongan picked up a wooden stick that had been used to make a candle cup for the Wangtai, aimed it at the first slot, and inserted it accurately.

Then, the second one, the third one...

Once the four wooden strips are locked, the entire movable frame throne is considered to be completed.

After packing up and putting it aside, Fang Hongan picked up the next movable frame.

When Fang Hongan was halfway through the assembly, Wang Tong and Fang Chengtao had already completed the production of all the Wangtai candle cups. Without resting, the two of them immediately came over and helped Fang Hongan assemble the equipment.

Compared with making wax cups, this kind of matching work can be said to require no technical skills at all.

After watching Fang Hongan's operation, the two of them were able to get started smoothly.

With the addition of the two of them, the remaining movable frame platforms were ready in just a few minutes.

This time, Fang Hongan prepared a total of sixty movable frame king platforms.

Had lunch.

The three of them took a short rest, then used three pairs of baskets to carry forty-five movable queen cells, each carrying a pair, and rushed to the apiary.

After hiring someone to renovate it, the prototype of the entire apiary has basically taken shape.

The isolation fence surrounding the entire apiary has been built. Although it is not like the barbed wire fence in later generations, it is sufficient in this era.

The wooden house where the beehives were previously placed has also been reinforced and renovated. Not only was the roof covered with thick bark and thatch, but a new bed was also built in the house.

Pots, pans, rice, oil and salt are all available.

It fully meets the conditions for people to stay there.

During this period, Fang Hongjiang and his son Fang Chengtao took turns staying here.

When Fang Hongan and the other two arrived, Fang Hongjiang was holding a hoe and clearing the open space in front of the wooden house. According to him, he was going to plant two money trees on the open space in front of the house. He had already helped Fang Hongan and the others choose the trees, and they could transplant the trees after the land in front was cleared.

The older generation has these Feng Shui considerations, and Fang Hongan readily agreed.

Anyway, just entrust it to this big King Kong to deal with it. He is also a professional in this area.

When I walked into the wooden house, I found that all the beehives in the house had been moved to the apiary.

Entering the apiary from the back door of the wooden house, beehives arranged in a staggered manner appear before your eyes.

The entire apiary is actually a gentle slope that is higher in the west and lower in the east. The thatch and prickly moss have basically been cleared away, leaving only a few scattered pine trees and some miscellaneous trees.

The placement of the beehives placed outdoors is completely different from that of the ones placed indoors. First of all, the beehive outlets are all adjusted to face east.

Facing the sun, the east side has the fastest temperature rise every day.

Moreover, most of the dry land in Shiwan Village where rapeseed is planted is concentrated in the east.

In addition, the bottom and back of the beehive are slightly raised, so that the entire beehive is slightly tilted to the east.

This is mainly for ventilation and drainage needs.

And the top of the beehive is covered with a "big straw hat"!
These big straw hats are made from local materials, such as cut thatch. They are used to cover the beehives to protect against rain and sun, and are very practical.

Wang Tong and Fang Chengtao were called together, and the three of them split up into three groups and began to add movable-frame queen cells into each beehive.

At this time, the advantages of beekeeping with movable frame beehives are fully demonstrated.

The number of honeycombs in the entire bee colony can be adjusted by adding and removing movable frames.

The operation of adding a movable frame is also very simple. You just need to find a suitable position and insert the movable frame directly into the beehive.

The principle of the movable frame queen cell is to attract young worker bees to the queen cell to feed the queen insects, so the insertion position of the movable frame queen cell should be close to the brood comb area where young worker bees are concentrated.

The three men, wearing bee hats, first took out the movable frames and checked the condition of the honeycombs on each frame.

Once you find a movable frame with full brood, insert the queen cell in the movable frame directly into the next position.

It seems a bit cumbersome, but through this operation, it can also be regarded as a check on the condition of the entire bee colony.

It can be regarded as killing two birds with one stone.

After a period of collecting bees and transferring hives, there are now more than 70 hives of bees in the entire apiary.

The three of them inserted the movable queen cells into the sixty beehives in front according to the numbers.

After doing all this, the three of them went home and rested early.

The next morning.

The three of them came to the apiary again and took out the movable frame queen cells that had been put down yesterday one by one.

After being placed overnight, the queen cell wax cups on these movable frames have been transformed by the worker bees of the hive.

Not only is beeswax secreted at the connection between the wax cup and the wooden frame to reinforce it, but a circle of beeswax is also sealed on the opening at the top of the wax cup, preparing for sealing.

This transformation indicates that the worker bees in the beehive have completely identified with these artificial queen cells.

And, preparations are being made to breed the king insect.

In the next step, if there is no human intervention, these young worker bees will drive the queen bee to lay eggs on the royal cell, and then take care of the eggs. After the eggs hatch, they will secrete royal jelly into the wax cups containing the queen worms and feed them carefully.

This is the basic principle of producing royal jelly.

but.

This can certainly produce royal jelly, but from the perspective of the worker bees driving the queen bee to the royal cell to lay eggs, the queen bee is actually completely forced to a large extent, and the egg-laying efficiency is not high.

In addition, it takes at least three days for the eggs to hatch after entering the queen cell.

During the initial stage of hatching, young worker bees are fed very little royal jelly.

Royal jelly will not be secreted in large quantities until the queen bee is at least three days old.

In this way, the production cycle of royal jelly will have to be at least ten days, and the efficiency will be very low.

and so……

In order to improve the efficiency of royal jelly production, human intervention is still needed from this step on...

(End of this chapter)