Grafting

[Hutch]

Hey people, I just found the thing that is probably the hardest and most frustrating thing I have ever tried other than golf. I attempted to do my first larvae grafting to raise my own queens. I couldn't pick the little suckers up and if I did, they didn't come with any royal jelly. When I did get one, I couldn't get it off my grafting tool. [img]redface.gif[/img] I did my grafting in the truck which was very warm and just got hotter as my frustration mounted. :mad: Then I had to deal with the 20 or so bees that were in the truck with me.
My 5 year old beating on the door wanting to know what I was doing and wanting in. My 3 year old yelling, "Daddy, I got to poo-poo".

Man, I LOVE beekeeping, never a dull moment.

Can't wait for my second grafting attempt this weekend.

[fat/beeman]

hey glad your trying to graft=its not hard to do just takes little work I use a piece of #12 copper wire punded flat on end to form a spoon the sand smooth bend it ti a 15 degree angle go under the white jelly and slide it from under larvea .I have several commercial types of grafting tools and found mine works fine hope thie will help you. no one grafts perfect rihgt off the bat just keep trying you will get the hang of it=Don

[Hook]

I made somethimng similar. I used a big paperclip, and pounded it flat, polished it with my wifes fingermail emory board. I don't know what angles the bends are, but I shaped it to make a comfortable fit in my hand.

Grafting is not that hard. I found it a bit easier, when I got some reading glasses,(magnifying) from the drug store. I think they are 5x but might be more. Anyway, it brings the little suckers that much closer. If you can't get them off the spoon, maybe it is too big. I have a small spoon, and like to get the larva about 3/4 on, and then lay it flat in cup.

I also use a damp cloth, to cover the grafts I already made, that way they don't dry up. I just takes practice.

[nursebee]

I was frustrated at first but got better. I found the Mann Lake Chinese grafting tool to fit the bill. Tough to pick up at first, but easy to dislodge with the spring loaded thingy. Cheap enough to have an extra on hand.

[roger eagles]

That $3.50 chinese grafting tool is a god send.I really also had stress.Got that little rubber guy and it goes so naturaly under the larvae.Just have a good cheep pair of glasses to blow them up.makes the larvae look like drones. Good luck.

[D. Murrell]

Hi Guys,

A little secret for using the Chinese grafting tool. Hold it between your thumb and middle finger. Slide it down the flat side of a cell wall. When it bottoms out, give it a very slight twist by rolling it very slightly betweeen the thumb and middle finger. Withdrawn it and the larva will be on the tip. You don't even need to see them if you know its the right age.

To place the larva in a cup, don't push it off the tip of the tool into the cup. Rather, put the larva and the tip where you want it in the cup. Then gently withdrawn the tool and use the plunger to keep the larva in the same spot. That will leave the larva and royal jelly intact.

On another note, some of the Chinese grafting tools tips are too stiff, especially if used to graft off of newer comb. The tips can be thinned slightly by sanding them with 400 grit paper which will allow the tip to bend rather than dig into the cell bottom. Older comb has more rounded cell bottoms and even a stiff tip will slide underneath the larva.
Regards
Dennis

[Hutch]

Well, my first grafting attempt did not take. The bees did build up the cell cups some. I took Hooks advise and made me a grafting tool with a paper clip. The second time around was much easier. First off I left the kids at the house. Will check it in a couple of days and see how this attempt goes. Thanks for everyone advice.

[bjerm2]

Try a queen rearing kit. That is what I now use and recomend. I have a very hard time seeing the larva and my success rate was always low grafting. Now I get close to 100% success rate using the kit. Try that I think you'll like it.
Dan

[TwT]

bjerm2, what kind of kit do you have or recommend, where did you get it and do the queens lay in it quick or takes a few days?

[bjerm2]

TwT,
Hi I use the one advertized in www.betterbee.com . I now use three of them and have a good success rate. Yes it takes a few days for them to lay in the kit. I usually check them every day and once I see a shinny spot in the bottom of the cell cup then I know there is a tiny larva being feed. This usually take 3-4 days for the larval to appear. I also keep the queen in the kit for about 5 days. This gives me lots of eggs to harvest for queen cells. I then take the group (usually there will be 20 or so at a time) to the cell builder hive. This hive has no queen and has been in this state for about a day or two and they also have nothing but sealed brood with honey and pollen in the hive. I usually give them 3 sealed brood frames and the rest with pollen, honey and queen cells. You can do 40 to 60 cells at a time in these hives.
Dan