Hook
You wrote:
I have tried to graft larvae three times now, and the bees only accept one cup. I think I may be hurting them in transfer. I have read about priming the cups with royal jelly, but how much is enough or too much?
Reply:
Take the wooden end of a large woodenmatch after greaking the head off of the other side. Put one small drop of liquid royal jelly into the bottom of the queen cell cups, enough to cover most of the bottom.No more!
You further wrote:
Also, I made my own grafting tool fron a paper clip, flattened, curved, and filed to a sliver. Is there a trick to scooping the little guys out of the cell, or does it just take practice?
Reply:
I have made my own frafting needle from a paper clip and I favor it over more expensive needles.
But I did not file mine to a sliver. I instead, flattened it, then took a jewelers fine file and filed it to the width of the paper clip wire normal width and gently rounded the edges, wiping with fine emery cloth. Then I bend the end for grafting and shaped the paper clip to fit between my thumb and first finger in comfort, but long enough to get into the bottom of the cell unscraped with enough clearance (length) to see what I was doing.
I had an old beekeeper tell me slivers can be too sharp!
Also when starting out, take a toothpick of plain wood and bend the pointed tip and use that for lifting larva.Also the end of a plastic soda straw carved to a small flat tip will work also after being bent.
You also wrote:
My homemade "jenter system" never works right, so I tried the old fashioned way. The colony split queens are working out really well, but I wanted to get into this grafting of larvae to queens. I read everything I can get my hands on, but I must be missing something...and they are fresh hatched larvae.
Reply:
Then prime the queen cells with royal jelly. Then wet the grafting needle with royal jelly. Then slide the wet grafting tip under the larva slowlly sideways, aproaching from the moon/curved side of the larva in position in the bottom of the cell cup. This is the easiest way to approach when learning.
Then gently after sliging under with the grafting needle, lift up and out and then place into the bottom of the grafting cup and slide to the side again pushing down slowly at same time, so you float the larva off of the spoon with the jelly, and slide her onto the jelly in the cup bottom.
It takes practice, but you can do it.
Keep going and trying.
Regards,
Dee A. Lusby