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Better Queens by Jay Smith

7K views 37 replies 21 participants last post by  Michael Bush 
#1 ·
#27 ·
Hi Michael,

Thanks for the info. There's lots of stuff in this little book that would take a queen producer decades to discover. At least it took me that long :>)

And yep, the bees will always make the best queen possible with the resources available. A queen producer, who understands this, will be way ahead of the crowd when he works with his bees instead of the other way around.

Grafting techniques can still be used to maximize very early larva feeding. It requires using a Chinese grafting tool. With it, a larva can be grafted as soon as the egg bends over and the bees supply the very first feed. It will look just like a damp spot on the bottom of the cell with the egg laying down on it. With other tools, it's impossible to consistently graft such young larva without damaging them.

But even the Chinese tool must cause some disturbance. And I'm not quite sure that the waxing, dunking, cooling, etc. of the cell strip, used with Jay's method, would cause less disturbance than using the Chinese tool.

The best method might be something like a Hopkins method that could be done with eggs in the comb an d no disturbance to the larva at all.

I've built a tool for grafting eggs according to Steve Taber's plans. But I've only tested it on a limited basis. I got the same kind of results he did.

Regards
Dennis
 
#28 ·
I'm planning on more work with the Hopkins method. It has the added advantage of not needing any special equipment except a shim to hold it up.

One of the nice things about a Jenter is that you can transfer them when they are so small you can't hardly see them as anything but a slight break in the smooth surface of the food AND you get all the food with the transfer.
 
#30 ·
I don't handle queens much. I use a hair clip queen catcher most of the time to catch her and put her in the Jenter box. You still have to be gentle of course, but it's easier than accidentally pushing her down too hard.

I am enjoying the queen muff a lot. I have had only one queen fly since I bought it and that was my own fault.
 
#33 ·
>This work alone makes my small contribution to the site insignificant. I shall be sending a little Christmas gift to the site.

That's a great idea. I think you should. But just to clarify, the book is not on this site, as in www.beesource.com, it's on my site, as in www.bushfarms.com. Since I'm not collecting contributions, one for here would always be appreciated by all of us, I'm sure.
 
#36 ·
Buzz,

I haven't had much chance to do much more than scan the forums lately so I missed your question about other reader formats. I'm sorry that I don't have software to make other formats. Maybe someone reading the forums will chime in with a solution for you.
 
#37 ·
Thanks again Michael for making "Better Queens" available to all of us.

I'm not quite clear on Jay's technique of cutting the comb into strips. What happens to the larvae on the other side of the midrib of the comb? I can't make out exactly what is happening here from the pictures. I'm guessing they are just entombed when the wax is brushed on. Is that what is happening?

Thanks

Tim
 
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