Queen Rearing

The following is required for successful raising of queens:

•ample supply of nectar and good quality pollens

•an abundance of sexually mature, high-quality drones for mating with the newly emerged virgin queens

•suitable weather for mating of drones and queens

•suitable starter and cell raising colonies (as described later)

•a queen mother to breed from, whose offspring worker bees (and colonies) display ideal characteristics such as gentle temperament, disease resistance, low swarming tendency and excellent honey production.

Requirements to obtain good queens

Necessary Equipment•5-frame nuc to serve as a cell starter

•Cell cup of choice (JZBZ)

•Grafting tool

•Cell cup frame

•Grafting table with excellent lighting and magnification

•Bee brush

•Paint Marker

•Mating Nuc

•Queen Cages

•Notebook

Queen rearing involves the following stages:

•establishing a starter colony for initial stage of rearing queen cells

•establishing the cell building colony

•grafting honey bee larvae

•transferring the mature queen cells to honey bee nucleus colonies for the mating stage.

Steps for queen rearing

Summary

When to Graft?

Drone Production

• 100 capped drone cells needed for each queen produced

• 18-20 cells per square inch = 5 square inches per queen

• Only 10% will actually mate

Drone Holding Colonies• Full size or nuc colony may be used• When drone cells are sealed remove frame and

bees and place into an empty hive body• Add 1 frame of merging worker brood and bees• Repeat this process with all drone colonies• Add frames with pollen and honey to fill boxes• Place a young virgin queen in each colony• When drones emerge and bodies have hardened

– dust with powdered sugar• In 4-6 weeks install new queen into the drone

holder – removing the caged virgin

Getting Started• Assemble starter colony

Getting Started (cont.)• Pull frames of nurse bees and shake into

nuc• Add: two empty drawn out frames

1 frame containing honey 1 frame containing pollen 1 water soaked sponge

• Install grafts in empty slot• Set aside in cool, dark area while

performing grafts

Setting up cell builder colony

• Select strong colony• Install open brood and bees into empty

box (leave open space for grafts)• Both outside frames should be honey &

pollen• Place open brood and bees above

queen excluder on top of hive• Install feeder

Open

Brood

OpenBrood

Grafting• The single most important aspect of

queen rearing is selection of correct aged larvae

Grafting Tools

Install grafts into starter colony immediately after grafting.

Proof of why women live longer than men.

After 24 hours in the starter colony…

New Folder (2)\cell starts.jpgNew Folder (2)\cell starts.jpg

• Move grafts to cell builder colony and install in empty slot

Patience is a Virtue

• Leave in cell builder for 5 days – NO PEEKING!

• Feed continuously

Day 10 -- The wait is OVER.

Either move to incubator or leave in builder colony

Day 14 – Moving Day• Make up mating nucs & install cells

More Waiting and Then…• Do not disturb for 10 days• After 10 days check for laying

queen or virgin• Allow queen to lay for minimum of

21 days/28 days is even better• Pull queen and install new cell or

combine mating nucs into larger colony

Last Step…

• Mark, clip, and cage queen for use

RidgeTop Apiaries

Mike Haney

1475 Thompson Ridge Rd.

Baxter, TN 38544

931-319-6569

www.ridgetopapiaries.com

Thank You!!