# General beekeeping > Queen raising >  Bored with board

## Dark Bee

Would some kind person who has understanding and knowledge, be kind enough to compensate for the deficiencies of the W.W.W. by explaining what is a "Shepherd Board" ? The context is apian and not ovine.  :Cool:

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## marion.orca

Could it just perhaps be that someone has been confused and used the word shepherd instead of snelgrove - bit far fetched I know, but maybe a possibility.

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## brothermoo

Yeah probably auto correct gone wrong most likely

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## Black Comb

The only ref. I can find is a report that Terry Claire gave a talk to South Hants Spring Convention a few years ago that explained the method (+ Demaree).

http://www.winchesterbeekeepers.org.uk/2009-04.pdf

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## Dark Bee

> The only ref. I can find is a report that Terry Claire gave a talk to South Hants Spring Convention a few years ago that explained the method (+ Demaree).
> 
> http://www.winchesterbeekeepers.org.uk/2009-04.pdf


Thanks, that was the only reference that I too could find. I wonder if it relates in some way to demareeing? I've met Terry Claire a few times I suppose one could always contact him, but there must be someone here who knows what it is.  :Big Grin:

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## Dark Bee

> Could it just perhaps be that someone has been confused and used the word shepherd instead of snelgrove - bit far fetched I know, but maybe a possibility.


You quite possibly are right, the amount of boards available makes one quite bored.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):  It difficult to how another useful type could be produced, but one never knows!

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## The Drone Ranger

I'm working on one called the diving board all very hush hush

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## Jon

I am working on one to be called the board of directors where the bees in the top box are directed to make queen cells or else fly off with a P45. Keep it to yourself.

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## The Drone Ranger

The diving board is loosely based on a clockwork snelgrove board for the incredibly lazy beekeeper
It's been in development for over 5 years and is still just a clock sat on a snelgrove board 
The clock has been heavily propolised unfortunately

Now I find Jon is working on a higher tech version based on a potato clock
http://www.sciencemuseumshop.co.uk/p...ato-clock.html

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## Jon

That's the type of clock tells the time with deadly accuracy twice a day.
Potato batteries last as long in Ireland as labradors in Korea.

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## The Drone Ranger

> That's the type of clock tells the time with deadly accuracy twice a day.
> Potato batteries last as long in Ireland as labradors in Korea.


Bad move mentioning the Korea word goodness knows who's reading this now
I think a lemon will substitute for the potato and certainly in Scotland that would be safe (as would almost any fruit)

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## Jon

A friend of mine ate dog in a restaurant in the Philippines. Glad it wasn't my dog.
A deep fried mars bar battery would have a limited working life in your neighbourhood.

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## The Drone Ranger

> A friend of mine ate dog in a restaurant in the Philippines. Glad it wasn't my dog.
> A deep fried mars bar battery would have a limited working life in your neighbourhood.


Sadly the mars bar probably wouldn't make to the chip shop except under armed guard

Kentucky Fried Puppy must have limited appeal even in the Phillipines 
Isn't that where the replacement wife shop is ?

nicked of net---
here is the list of places from around the world that has a record of consuming dog meat: Arctic and Antarctic, Canada, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, East Timor, France, Germany, Ghana, Hawaii, India, Indonesia, Japan, North and South Korea, Ancient and Modern Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Polynesia, Switzerland, Tonga, United States (Native Americans) and Vietnam.

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## Jon

Too much information about eating dogs.
Haven't seen too many strays in your area lately.
Never came across any dog eating in Mexico in 20 years there so I would dispute that.

The escuincles are generally safe.

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## Dark Bee

There was an incident in a Chinese restaurant located in South West Limerick adjacent to the Kerry border, where a customer found a canine micro chip in his food. This was in the fairly recent past and there must have been some extraordinary amount of backhanders paid to keep it quiet. Obviously not enough - I heard about it!!!

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## Jon

Got to be an urban myth DB

http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=76508

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddr...at-rumour.html

If in doubt, check snopes.

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## brothermoo

that gives me a name for my new board design.. the 'urban myth board' 

I hear it is suitable for AS, queenright queen rearing, queenless queen rearing, clearing supers, feeding, trapping pollen, collecting propolis and as a varroa treatment as part of IPM.

No board like it  :Wink: 

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## wee willy

> I'm working on one called the diving board all very hush hush


You're just Horselying about now!
VM


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## Dark Bee

[QUOTE=Jon;18990]Got to be an urban myth DB

Not very likely as I heard it from a costermonger friend who had a stall in town that day. There was uproar, police were called, the place closed down and has not reopened.
There was another incident elsewhere, which I witnessed myself; someone came out of a Chinese takeaway, dropped a chicken wing, a stray dog saw his chance and raced over.
But when he sniffed it, he left it and walked away - draw your own conclusions. :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## Jon

> draw your own conclusions.


versions of these stories have been doing the rounds since the 1970s.
I remember them from school.
The microchip variant is just updating the nonsense.
You won't be able to find anyone who actually witnessed anything because it never happened.

And hey, dogs will eat dogs quite happily.
I saw two dogs trying to cross a busy road in Mexico and one got run over but I will spare you the detail of the next part of the story.
Everyone gets these stories via someone a mate spoke to, a colleague of the brother in law etc.
Check snopes. They are all in there. Every one of those stories you ever heard in the pub.

http://www.snopes.com/

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## Dark Bee

> versions of these stories have been doing the rounds since the 1970s.
> I remember them from school.
> The microchip variant is just updating the nonsense.
> You won't be able to find anyone who actually witnessed anything because it never happened.
> 
> And hey, dogs will eat dogs quite happily.
> I saw two dogs trying to cross a busy road in Mexico and one got run over but I will spare you the detail of the next part of the story.
> Everyone gets these stories via someone a mate spoke to, a colleague of the brother in law etc.
> Check snopes. They are all in there. Every one of those stories you ever heard in the pub.
> ...


Jon, do you have shares in a chinese restaurant?
Send me a pm and I shall tell you where the places are. Remember I witnessed the second incident (dog rejecting the chicken wing)- it caused much hilarity among the onlookers.
Incidentally I don't drink and so it is unlikely that I hear stories in a pub :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## The Drone Ranger

How is the smorgasbord used
Can one be used for queen rearing

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## Jon

I don't much like Chinese food myself.
Too greasy.
Dogs will eat anything including their own kind!
The one you saw likely had an aversion to soy sauce.

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## The Drone Ranger

prawn balls are very addictive

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## Jon

Each to their own

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## The Drone Ranger

They are the dogs

strange year the bees are only putting up between 1 and 4 Queen Cell above the Snelgroves

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## Jon

you forgot the apostrophe and the rest of the sentence.

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## The Drone Ranger

That's what happens when you get your bus pass and you are on antibiotics

I've done some cell punching and a few grafts just in case the new queens above the Snelgrove's don't make it to laying

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## Black Comb

Yup, my recent Demaree reaulted in 2 only.

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## The Drone Ranger

Black Comb  would you normally expect at least half a dozen ?

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## Dark Bee

Delightful it indeed is, to read of your many and varied experiences in producing prize winning queen bees. But has anyone decided what a Shepherd board is? I first found mention of it on another forum - but there has been no further discussion on the subject.

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## Jon

> But has anyone decided what a Shepherd board is?


My best guess is something which occasionally turns up in a Chinese meal. Other than that it is a typo of Snelgrove.

We grafted 40 cells into two queen right cell raisers on Monday and only 5 were started. I redid 30 grafts on Tuesday and on checking today not a single one was started. I have 12 good cells from larvae I grafted into a queenless colony a week ago, due to emerge next wednesday. The weather has turned bad again which makes grafting more difficult.

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## The Drone Ranger

It's used to protect the bees from radio waves generated by Saturn
These disorientate the bees preventing them from producing queen cells 
The shepherd board is named after the two shepherd moons Prometheus and Pandora which stabilise Saturns rings
An absolute cornerstone of new age beekeeping with its magnetic core and divining rods
This board ensures your hives maximise the effects of lay lines in any location
Implicated in the CCD debacle it has lost some of its previous popularity
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ca...i20130502.html

Thanks go to dikipedia for the extract reproduced here

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## The Drone Ranger

> My best guess is something which occasionally turns up in a Chinese meal. Other than that it is a typo of Snelgrove.
> 
> We grafted 40 cells into two queen right cell raisers on Monday and only 5 were started. I redid 30 grafts on Tuesday and on checking today not a single one was started. I have 12 good cells from larvae I grafted into a queenless colony a week ago, due to emerge next wednesday. The weather has turned bad again which makes grafting more difficult.


I would understand that if I did the grafting but you chaps normally get much better hit rates

I can't handle the brush but the old Chinese tool is fairly easy
Cell punching is excellent but you need to be using new 1st year comb 

Weather seems to be very critical to success ??

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## Jon

When conditions are right you get 90% or more cells started.
Cool and wet is not conducive to getting cells made.

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## The Drone Ranger

> When conditions are right you get 90% or more cells started.
> Cool and wet is not conducive to getting cells made.


Cheers Jon
I'll keep the weather forecast in mind

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## Dark Bee

> When conditions are right you get 90% or more cells started.
> Cool and wet is not conducive to getting cells made.


I wonder how many will be accepted on Sunday at the GBBG apiary?
Drone Ranger has loaned me his bus pass - I intend to be there, but the weather forecast is bad.

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## Jon

You don't get too many grafts started at those open days as loads of beginners are having a go.
It's about showing the possibilities to those who have not tried it before and encouraging people to have a go.
Micheál Mac sets up 4 or 5 stations each one showing a different activity, grafting at one, apidea management at another, etc.
He has a few queens mated already so Tipp is well ahead of our efforts oop North. My first queens are due to emerge next Wednesday.
Each station has a demonstrator to show the ropes and answer questions.
I think this is a good format and we will probably adopt this approach at the event in Cavan in a fortnight if we can get enough demonstrators.
There is a bus load going down from Dromore Association today and staying overnight for the event on Sunday.

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## The Drone Ranger

Don't you cover cell punching ?

I've never understood the attraction of " punching Texas Cattle" as in the very popular vaudeville number Lone Star Trail
I would have thought it had limited chances of success and might prove dangerous under many circumstances
Dark Bee might have to dress and look like an Amish farmer if he is to pass himself off as me on the bus
Although dark bees are often of AMM ish appearance

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## Dark Bee

> Don't you cover cell punching ?.................................................  .........................
> ..................................................  ..................................................  ..................................................  ...................
> Dark Bee might have to dress and look like an Amish farmer if he is to pass himself off as me on the bus
> Although dark bees are often of AMM ish appearance


I shall travel as a protestant gentleman and plough square to the road. :Wink: 

Work out what the last part means and I will be most impressed!!!

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## The Drone Ranger

> I shall travel as a protestant gentleman and plough square to the road.
> 
> Work out what the last part means and I will be most impressed!!!


Must be some Choochter speak for ploughing a straight furrow 
My Old man was always proud of his ploughing

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## Dark Bee

> ..................................................  ..................................................  .........................
> There is a bus load going down from Dromore Association today and staying overnight for the event on Sunday.


They shall be most welcome. In the local town - Cahir, there is a pub called the "Black Bee".
We have young mated queens here too

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## Dark Bee

> Must be some Choochter speak for ploughing a straight furrow 
> My Old man was always proud of his ploughing


Not a bad interpretation. It is /used to be the practice of the protestant community in Ireland to plough at right angles (square to) to the road. Then anybody passing by could see instantly if the furrows were not straight. It stemmed from an old fashioned concept, called pride in one's work.

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## Jon

That lives on to this day as for some of the ould boys at the allotment the straightness of the rows is more important than the yield of the crop.
Bonkers. Not one of them has heard of permaculture or intercropping.

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## The Drone Ranger

> That lives on to this day as for some of the ould boys at the allotment the straightness of the rows is more important than the yield of the crop.
> Bonkers. Not one of them has heard of permaculture or intercropping.


Yeh! Jon they are old fuddy duddys man!
Permaculture are tons better than Oasis any day

14 out of 18 acceptances this time ---far too many 
I expected 6 or 8 still mustn't grumble

Now I have to dig out those bleeding mini nucs
2 apidea, 1 little swienty thing, 6 of the white keiler ? 
still long way to go best wait and see--- might not need them

By the way although the lady on landward picked up a larva about the size of a medium caterpillar she didn't put it in a cup that was a little larva
So it was just done for the camera I would say

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