(This page still under construction)
Well
not really but pretty much all that I know about it right now. I keep learning daily. I think that
eventually every beekeeper wants to try their hand at raising some
queens. And I also think that they should. It’s really not all that
difficult to raise some. There are some hurdles to overcome. Some
initial decisions to make but certainly doable at even a low level.
So lets look at the process.
The
first decision to make is how many queens CAN you make. And this is
dependent on how many mating nucs you can set up. Something that most
Youtubers and bloggers don’t mention. For every queen that comes
out of the cell builder, you need a mating nuc. That means one frame
of bees for each queen to go mate. (You can use less but let’s keep
it simple). And a box for them to live in. You can make split boxes,
sometimes called queen castles. Still you need these things before
getting started. Once the grafts are set in the builder, you’re
stuck to a certain time frame.
This
is where I have issues with all of the so called “small scale”
queen rearing videos. They set up a builder and then graft 40 cells.
To me that’s not small scale, but I suppose it’s all relative. I
know of a commercial beekeeper in south Florida who ran 4000 mating
nucs, so to him 40 is small. To me right now, 25 is large. If someone
just wants to make three to ten queens, it’s possible with just a
few beehives.
There
are a lot of videos to watch, books to read and blogs/web pages out
there. Nothing will beat some hands on instruction. But if you can’t
get that, by all means read and study. Take everything in
perspective. Michael Palmer has probably the best system for large
scale commercial queening, but he also has a lot of bees. Trying to
apply what one person does in another’s operation might not work.
Some
videos to watch are Michael Palmer, Jason Chrisman (JC’s bees), Don
the fat bee man, Larry Conner, Ian Steppler (A Canadian beekeeper’s
blog). These all have some good instruction on queening, again keep
perspective, they all also have a lot of bees.
So
once you’ve decided on how many queens you can try to mate then
it’s time to look at grafting. Or maybe not. If you need less than
10 cells, there is the option to simply cut comb. It works and there
is no grafting involved. I’d avoid the Nicot or Jentner gadgets
(personal opinion). While they do work, and I have used one, they are
a lot of work for little gain. (Check the page on gadgets and gimicks).
The
cell builder
You
need a cell builder with a LOT of nurse bees. And there are a lot of
options to set one up. You can use separate starter finishers or all
in one. The most important thing to remember, no matter what type
cell builder that you use, make sure there is no queen in the build.
In any of the cell building methods, if the grafts are not accepted
it’s either because they are too old, you damaged the larvae, or
there is a queen in the box. Also, be sure there is a lot of food in
both the builder and finisher. If there is not a flow on, or if
weather might be bad, put on a feeder.
The closed separate starter
This
is usually a deep nuc box, four to six frames. It has no opening so
the bees are confined to the box for the duration, usually three days
or less. This is set up between 3 hours and a day before grafting.
Some people put brood frames in, I personally don’t like any brood
frames in my cell builders, the only exception is a brood frame
that’s been above a queen excluder for at least 10 days.
Here’s
what is needed. At least 1 frame of food, honey or open nectar. I
think open nectar is better. And 1 frame with pollen. If you’re
only making a few queens and will only run the box once, you can find
a frame with both pollen and nectar. Two more frames of drawn comb.
Shake bees in the box off brood frames, as many as you can. The more
bees in this box the better. Again depending on how many queens you
are trying to make and how many bees you have, I’ve made queens in
a nuc by shaking bees off just two brood frames. It was just 4 cells
but that’s all I needed. You want to put some kind of dish or tray
in the bottom that you can fill with water and put a sponge in it.
This is how I set up a small cell builder. In a 5 frame box, outside
two frames are drawn comb, then food frames and in the middle will be
my grafts. Put in the outside frames, shake in the bees, put in the
next frames and close it up. Put in a shaded place for at least 3
hours, some people leave it overnight but I don’t think that’s
necessary. I’ve not tried this but I was recently told that if
you put a young brood frame, one with eggs and larvae, right in the
middle, the bees will start making royal jelly in the three hour
period. You can actually take grafts from this frame, then replace it
with the graft bar. I just don't like putting any young brood in my builder. I believe bees can move larvae and don't want to give them a chance. The grafts are put in and
you wait 24-36 hours. Then take them out and put in a finisher, a
queen right colony with a box of bees above an excluder. You can put
the cell starter bees back in the original box or put in another
graft frame for 1 more day. This is a good system to make just a few
queens and run just once. You can do the whole thing with just 1
beehive. Make sure the queen is in the bottom box and put on an
excluder when you start. You can leave a couple of empty spaces in
the top box over night, or some empty drawn comb. After the bees
start the grafts, move everything back to the top box over the
excluder and they’ll finish them out. This is also a good system to
use cut comb instead of grafting. You need a frame of drawn comb, it
won’t work on plasticell. Find a row of cells with day 4 larvae or
a mix of larvae and eggs. Using a sharp knife, cut 1 or 2 strips, 2
or 3 cells wide and 6 inches long. Lay these on a top frame bar and
squish the comb into the groove. Or use some rubber bands on the ends of the strips. Be sure to leave several cells
intact. They will be facing down when placed in the starter. If you
use eggs in this method, I’d leave the bees in the cell starter an extra
day, so instead of 24 hours, wait 48.
My 5 frame closed cell builder. Screened bottom and 6 holes on each side. Made from stock 1x12 pine. Deep frames stop about 1/4 inch above the water cup.
My 5 frame closed cell builder. Screened bottom and 6 holes on each side. Made from stock 1x12 pine. Deep frames stop about 1/4 inch above the water cup.
Starter and finisher 1
There are a bunch of ways to set this up, here are some that I’ve
had success with.
A five frame nuc. I set this up essentially the same way I would the
closed starter, the difference is I use bees from a different yard so
they don’t fly right back home. And it’s an open box, no water
dish. Set up is about the same, shake in at least 4 frames of nurse
bees off of brood frames, add food frames with whatever bees are on
them. Leave them
alone for at least 3 hours, then put in the grafts. I’ve used a set
up like this for one week or several weeks. If I want use it for a
while, I put in a brood frame that’s been over an excluder for at
least 10 days when it’s set up. The sealed and emerging brood will
help maintain strength and suppress laying workers. I don’t usually
go more than three weeks though. And even though this is an older
brood frame, I am careful to check it for emergency cells. In this
box the grafts stay for 8-10 days. Eight days if moved to an
incubator, or they can be caged. And on day 10 from graft (day 14
from egg) moved to a mating nuc. For truly small scale operations,
less than 15 queens at a time, I really like this system.
Starter and finisher 2
I do two variations on this method that I’ll describe. I use this
for long term, three to four weeks, and I add grafts every 4 days in
this set up. Still only grafting 8-12 larvae at a time. On a decent
flow, you can get a bunch of queens pretty quickly. Start with a
strong box. I run all 8 frame mediums so I want to start with a
colony three boxes high. Ten days before set up I shake all of the
bees in the bottom box, re-stack with an excluder under the top box.
I put two or three young brood frames in the top box. This will
attract nurse bees. By waiting 10 days, there won’t be any viable
larvae in these frames. Before setting up, check these frames for any
emergency cells. On setup day I do one of two things. The first
variation is to simply spin the whole stack around, put a solid
divider board where the excluder was with an entrance on the same
side as the original. I do this around noon.
Any field bees will come back to this side and although at first
confused, will find the entrance and boost the population of the
builder. Again leave alone for at least 3 hours. In the 8 frame
builder I set it up like this; (food frames are nectar and pollen)
food, old brood/food, graft, old brood, old brood, graft 2, food,
food. During the first 4 days I push the food frames over and put
drawn comb or foundation/starter on the outside. I do this if I can’t
move one of the boxes. In one of the yards where I graft, I only have
a single stand and can’t add another. If I can move the box, I
still spin the original around and move it to a different stand in
the yard. Put a new bottom board down and put the cell builder in the
original place. If you use the first method, with the solid divider.
You can do two sets of grafts, then on day 5 or 6 spin the box back
around and replace the solid board with an excluder. You get two bars
of grafts. If you have the resources, you can put 25 to 30 grafts in
each position. (But that’s no longer “small scale”).
Getting larvae
You need to get the right age larvae to make queens. You actually
have a bit of a window, bees will make a queen from a larvae that’s
3 to 5 days old, from egg, so if you graft a little older, it still might work.
When I started, my queens were coming out 2 days early, I suspect
that I was grafting larvae that was a bit old. And if it’s hot, as
in several days after grafting being over 100 degrees, the queens can
come out sooner. The smallest larvae the better to a point. If there
isn’t any royal jelly in the cell, I won’t graft it. I don’t
wet graft, it just seems like too much more work to me. I suppose if
one is only grafting for a single round of queens, you could take a
little more time and move some jelly from older cells to the dry
cups. As far as grafting tools, the most popular is the Chinese tool.
Again, when I first started I tried some Chinese tools, did not like
them. I used a little metal scoop for almost a year and then tried
the Chinese tool again. Like a lot of people have told me, and you
might read this too, you can buy a bunch of the tools and only one
works decently. I’ve found “that “ tool and it works quite
well. I can get a good supply of jelly with the larvae and keep it
wet in the cell cup. It’s been suggested by several people to buy a
bunch of the Chinese tools and keep trying them until you find one
that actually works. I think this is crucial to getting good grafts,
get as much jelly with the larvae as possible.
These are just the right age.
There is one larvae in the
bottom picture that might make
it. It's still a bit old, but there is a
lot of jelly and is possible.
Somewhere between these two.
you can scoop some out of
cells like this, then add the
grafted larvae.
Grafting without grafting
If you are only making a few queens, you can graft without actually grating. Sounds contradictory I know. Cell punching is an option, I've done it a few times but it's more work. You need something that can cleanly cut out a cell. Actually if you can cut large enough to hold 2 or 3 cells it works better. I made a cell punch from a .45 ACP cartridge that I cut the rim off. Some people have made them from various tubes. What I find much easier is to simply cut a strip, 3 cells wide and several inches long. Just squish the ends of the strip on a top bar and the bees will make queens. Another option instead of squishing the ends in to the bar is to attach with some small rubber bands.
It can be tricky to separate the cells sometimes. This photo is about 27 hours after the grafts were placed in the builder.
Cell cups
There are some choices in cell cups too. By and large the most
commonly used cell cups are JZ-BZ. I like the Nicot cells as they can
be covered with a roller cage. I’ve also dipped wax cups too,
that’s a bit of work and time, which I really don’t have. I tried
some very cheep plastic cups I bought on Ebay. They’re marketed as
queen rearing cups but I had trouble with them. They are large, quite
a bit larger than the JZ-BZ, and a lot larger than any wax cups. I
met a well experienced queen breeder and he told me the bees won’t
like the larger cups and won’t make as many queens. He was right,
my acceptance in the cheap cups sucked. In Frank Pellett’s book,
Practical Queen Rearing, he notes that some early grafters used bits
of drone comb as cell cups. (This was 100 years ago, no JZ-BZ back
then). A lot of grafters will put the cell cups in the builder a day
before grafting so the bees can clean the cups. I’ve tried this and
I’ve just grafted with cups right out of the bag. I don’t see a
difference. The only time I did see a problem was when I got some
drywall dust in my tool box and it got in some of the cell cups.
Bees don’t like dirty cups. I keep a zip locked bag of cups in my
truck and some q-tips. Dust out the cups before grafting just in
case.
JZ-BZ cups Wax dipped cups
Nicot system cups. Bar mount, bottom receiver and the cup.
These are the rather large cups I tried and did not work well.
JZ-BZ cups Wax dipped cups
These are the rather large cups I tried and did not work well.
Mating nucs
There are so many varieties of these. If you’re planning to raise
queens for a while, it will pay to make some small mating nucs, for
just a few queens and one or two times, some standard nuc boxes will
work. I split some 5 frame nucs down the middle with ½ inch plywood
and made double 2 frame boxes. They worked pretty well, the space is
small and if you don’t get in the box right after she starts
laying, they can swarm on you. The little mini mating nuc that has
three frames about 4 inches square has the same problem, probably a
little more severe. I split some 10 frame boxes in thirds, each
compartment is 4 5/8 inches wide and will hold 3 frames. To minimize
the amount of different inventory, I’d suggest just using what you
already have to get started. In my mating boxes I typically put in a
frame of brood, if possible mostly capped, a frame of food and either
drawn comb or a starter strip. In the two frame boxes, brood and
food. Your queens could be mated in a week but that’s really fast.
I like to wait 2 weeks before checking, then I check every 4 to 6
days if they’re in a 2 frame. Once a week if in a 3 frame.
Poly mini nucs
Three way triple split.
Four way half size frame queen castle.
Split 2 frame.
