Backyard Queen RearingEric Smith - EAS Master Beekeeper
Beekeepers of the Susquehanna Valley
July 8, 2014
Read Increase Essentials by Larry Connor, 2006.
Equipment: 5-frame deep / 10 frame medium or larger
Honey, Pollen, and capped brood. Protein/Syrup/Water if
needed
CRITICAL: No uncapped brood dispatch extras w/powdered sugar
Bees. Lots of bees. Lots and lots of bees. Shake them from
brood
frames from the donor hive after locating the queen and putting
her
in a safe place.
Nurse bees 5 to 15 days old have the most effective
hypopharyngeal glands which produce large amounts of royal
jelly.
You want bored nurse bees with nothing to do
Traditional method: Dolittle/Grafting
Add a frame of brood. Best on wax foundation.
Miller Method Wax foundation only.
Hopkins Method -- Wax foundation only.
Jenter / Nicot System. 3 days for bee-smell; add queen and check
for
eggs every 24 hours. Release & admit defeat after 3 days if
no eggs.
Use our queen calendar at www.thebeeyard.org to follow
progress
Move cells from starter into mating nucs before virgins
emerge
Requeening existing colony? Kill old queen and insert cell.
Small, 3-5 frame nucs work well. Avoid baby nucs or other
non-standard sized equipment.
More than one? Different orientations and colors
Dont be greedy. Share extra queen cells with your fellow
beeks.
Patience is key consult clubs queen calendar for timing.
Apis Mellifera Queen Development Timeline
Step 1: Build a Cell Starter
Step 2: Add Larvae
Step 3: Mating
