39) Raf Augustyn (NZ)

39) Raf Augustyn (NZ)

From Breeding the Honeybee by Brent Nixon

June 7, 2026 · 17 min · Episode 39

About this episode

Raf Augustyn discusses his queen breeding techniques and the design of mating nucs in New Zealand.

Raf is a queen breeder based in New Zealand. He makes his own mating nucs that are based on the sizes used in Europe. 0:45 Mating Nuc Design 3:15 Using mating nucs as cell raisers 3:30 Using mating nucs for breeder queens 3:47 Using mating nucs as queen banks 3:57 Fixing failing mating nucs 4:30 Comparisons to poly mini nucs 5:00 queen quality in larger nucs 6:06 Full size mating nucs 9:19 European influence 10:54 Isolation Cages 12:09 Isolation queen bank 14:30 Custom queen excluders 16:15 Raf’s business Check out Raf's business here. https://www.manaqueen.co.nz/ Join the podcast Facebook community group - This is a great place to comment on the episode, share some of your own tips or just say hi! https://www.facebook.com/groups/breedingthehoneybee Podcast proudly brought to you by Brent Nixon at Nixon Queen Bees (Ballarat VIC, Australia) https://nixonqueenbees.com.au/ Music by https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL0pcAGV4g67jCxGIPWv9iQ

People in this episode

Host: Brent Nixon

Guest: Raf Augustyn

Topics covered

  • queen breeding
  • mating nucs
  • beekeeping techniques
  • queen quality
  • European influence
  • isolation cages

Keywords

  • queen breeder
  • mating nucs
  • beekeeping
  • queen banks
  • cell raisers
  • queen excluders
  • European influence

Sponsors

Nixon Queen Bees

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Mana Queen, Facebook

Places: New Zealand, Europe, Ballarat VIC, Australia

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