Grow Your Own Queen Bees Recap. Presented By: Kevin Lewis

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1 Grow Your Own Queen Bees Recap Presented By: Kevin Lewis

2 Queen Rearing Resources: Michael Bush beekeeping website: Queens -A few good queens & Queen Rearing Michael Palmer video: Queen Rearing in the Sustainable Apiary

3 7 Steps to Raising Queen Bees:

4 7 Steps to Raising Queen Bees: 1. Understand the development of a queen from egg to mated adult. 2. Acquire the resources necessary. 3. Grow queen cells using one or more of several methods. 4. Isolate the cells prior to emergence. 5. Allow virgins to mate. 6. Confirm eggs are being laid. 7. Evaluate the brood pattern of mated queens.

5 7 Steps to Raising Queen Bees: 1. Understand the development of a queen from egg to mated adult. a. A fertilized egg. (female) b. An abundance of royal jelly c. About 16 days from egg to adult (see development chart) d. Queen cells are grown vertically

6 7 Steps to Raising Queen Bees: 2. Acquire the resources necessary. a. A queenless colony with lots of nurse bees. b. Worker (female) eggs and/or young larva under 48 hours old. c. A surplus of honey and pollen. d. Equipment to grow cells and isolate/mate virgins. e. Drones available. f. (Good weather is required for mating.)

7 7 Steps to Raising Queen Bees: 3. Grow queen cells using one or more of these methods: a. Harvest swarm cells in swarm season. b. Move comb with eggs/larva to a queenless hive. c. Split a strong hive. The bees choose, from the open brood, in which cells queens will be raised. (easiest) d. Use a queen rearing kit. Move cell cups, with eggs/larva laid in them by a queen, into a queenless hive, positioned in a vertical orientation. e. Transfer (graft) larva into cell cups. Move cell cups, with larva transferred to them, into a queenless hive, positioned in a vertical orientation.

8 7 Steps to Raising Queen Bees: 4. Isolate cells prior to emergence. a. Place capped cells into separate mating boxes/hives. b. Cage capped cells and allow virgins to emerge. Then put virgins into mating boxes/hives. 5. Allow virgins to mate. a. Queens are ready to mate 5-7 days after emerging. b. Temperature must be at least 69 F with no strong winds. c. Virgin queens mate with 10 to 20 drones on one or more flights. d. Drones and queens may fly a mile or more to drone congregation areas. e. Queens will begin laying eggs 2 to 4 days after mating. f. Mating can be delayed up to 3 weeks and still be successful. 6. Confirm eggs are being laid. 7. Evaluate brood pattern.

9 How to Grow Your Own Queen Bees

10 How to grow your own queen bees Goal: Increase one double deep hive to 5 additional nucs, without grafting and with little equipment. (5 new queens) 1. Choose a strong double deep hive, to serve as the cell builder. 2. Acquire 5 nucboxes with 25 frames. 3. Consider the weather, a nectar flow is best. 4. Drones available? 5. Check the hive for correct age brood/eggs, preferably on new comb. 6. Move the queen, on a comb, to a nucbox, with 2 frames of emerging brood, one frame of honey, and one empty comb. Leave the bees on the frames as you move them. Shake a few extra bees into the nuc, if necessary.

11 How to grow your own queen bees 7. Reassemble the brood nest of the queenlesscell builder, surrounded by pollen, empty frames, then honey, and add a feeder. The bees will start building queen cells. 8. One week later, look for queen cells. Make a new nucwith each frame containing queen cells. Each nucshould have a frame of honey added, at a minimum, and plenty of bees to cover the brood. a. If more than four frames have cells, get more nucboxes or distribute them among 5 nucs, after moving the queen back into the cell builder. b. If four frames or less have cells, move brood from the queen nuc to restock the cell builder and look for more cells next week. 9. Two weeks after starting the cells, look for emerged virgins. 10. Three and four weeks afterstarting the cells, look for eggs in the nucs.

12 My Queen Rearing Method

13 My Queen Rearing Method: Grafting into a cell builder and mating in queen castles 1. Assemble the cell builder (Week 0) a. One 10-frame deep w/top feeder b. Frames arranged in this order: H-P-B-C-B-B-C-B-P-H c. Use capped brood. d. Shake in lots of nurse bees e. Absolutely must be queenless!

14 My Queen Rearing Method: Grafting into a cell builder and mating in queen castles 2. Graft larva into cell cups (Week 0) a. I prefer grafting over confining the queen in a kit b. Less steps and less work c. 2-week growing schedule for weekend work d. Graft the smallest larva possible e. I use Nicot-brand cell cups and cages

15 My Queen Rearing Method: Grafting into a cell builder and mating in queen castles 3. Place grafts A into cell builder (Week 0) a. I use custom made 20-cell-cup frames 4. Add cell cages (Week 1) a. One week later, cage the capped cells A. b. Move the caged cells A to the mother hive. c. Add more grafts B to the cell builder.

16 My Queen Rearing Method: Grafting into a cell builder and mating in queen castles 5. Remove caged virgins (Week 2) a. One week later, remove virgins emerged A. (Use candling) b. Cage capped cells B and move them. c. Add more grafts C to the cell builder. 6. Move virgins to mating boxes (Week 2) e. Remove virgins A from cell cages. f. Mark virgins with current color code. g. Place virgins into rectangular wooden cages with a cork. h. Prepare mating boxes. One frame food & one frame brood. i. Add caged virgins with a marshmallow.

17 My Queen Rearing Method: Grafting into a cell builder and mating in queen castles 7. Look for eggs in mating boxes (Weeks 3,4,5) 8. 2-Week Schedule Recap: a. Week 0 Graft A b. Week 1 Cage A, Graft B c. Week 2 Virgins A, Cage B, Graft C

Introduction to Queen Rearing

Introduction to Queen Rearing Heather Blackwell Graduate Research Assistant MSU Apiculture Mississippi Agricultural & Forestry Experiment Station Members of the Colony Drones are reproductive & haploid