Grafting Success

[Joseph Clemens]

Yaahh! Finally some successful grafts. Using just top bars as my cell bars, I finally had success, grafting into fresh, handmade beeswax cups and some JZ BZ plastic cell cups. Instead of priming with royal jelly from a jar in my freezer, I used some fresh royal jelly by sacrificing some from undesirable queen cells that were started in the colony I plan to use as my next cell builder. I did not polish the cups, nor did I place them in the hive prior to grafting, I was in a hurry and did not graft into all the cups on the bars, but marked those I did. Looks like I got better than 90% take, but I only grafted 16 cups, total.

[Dan Williamson]

Its fun when a plan comes together.

[peggjam]

Persistance pays off.....it's great when you finally have something go right.

[tecumseh]

a nice bar of accepted cell sure make you feel good, sure makes you smile... right?

[Joseph Clemens]

-- Two out of six in a new cell builder/finisher, four out of six in another. I used JZBZ cell cups, I waxed some hand-made all beeswax cell cups into the JZBZ cups, using them as holders. For me, these are some of the most beautiful things the bees make, in many ways as beautiful as the queens that they are the incubation chambers for. I have been reluctant to feed a carbohydrate source, other than honey (someone in my vicinity is trying to feed hummingbirds - ask me how I know), but I have started feeding a little 1::1 sugar syrup to each cell builder/finisher colony, and to each mating nuc - maybe they won't abscond on me so frequently.

[tecumseh]

joseph states:
but I have started feeding a little 1::1 sugar syrup to each cell builder/finisher colony, and to each mating nuc - maybe they won't abscond on me so frequently.

tecumseh replies:
the smaller the unit the more likely you will need to not only feed but also to screen in for one or two days (for me with new queen cell installed).

[Joseph Clemens]

Ah, hah - now I know where the contents of the missing mating nuc went to. Upon checking my queenless cell builder colony with the two growing cells - I discovered they had been destroyed, a little closer look and I see the missing queen from my recently absconded mating nuc (laughing at me) [yes, I know I'm paranoid]. That's two queen's I won't have to find mating nuc space for. I'm thinking of using queen excluders on all my queenless cell builder colonies.

This morning I grafted two more cell bars (topbars) with six cups each. This time I used the JZBZ plastic cell cups, just dunked in hot liquid beeswax and then allowed to cool and harden.

[Joseph Clemens]

Well, the bar with two cells-in-progress, had aborted one so I took the remaining one, JZBZ cell cup and moved it to the cell builder colony with the four cells-in-progress (grafted the same day), then the next day noticed it had fallen from the bar and was resting on the top bar of the frame below. I moved a few more frames out of the way, reached down and picked it up, one entire side of the cell stuck to the top bar below and tore away when I lifted it. I still carefully reattached it to the cell bar, replaced all the frames I had removed then replaced the cell bar -- refilled the feeder cans and closed it up. That was yesterday, this morning I gave a quick peek and saw that the damaged cell was completely repaired and looking just fine.
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I have had a bit of difficulty getting mated queens from queen cells placed in queenless colonies. I have removed the undesirable queens from several colonies, waited 2 - 3 days, then inserted my ripe queen cells. These cells have been accepted, the virgin queens hatch, so far, so good; then when I check a week or two later, I cannot find a queen anywhere in the hive. When I give them a frame containing young larvae, they promptly build queen cells.

[tecumseh]

joseph sezs:
a week or two later, I cannot find a queen anywhere in the hive. When I give them a frame containing young larvae, they promptly build queen cells.

tecumseh replies:
now I don't really know how 'hot' your queen cells are when you installed them, but you need to give them at least two weeks before you can expect to see any signs of a laying queen. working the hive prior to this two week interval should be minimize to not unnecessarily disturb the bees since this can lead to the queen being murdered. a bit prior to the end of this two week interval you may witness bee cleaning a section of comb and then they appear unwilling to even tread on these segments of cleaned comb (it is almost like they have posted no trespassing signs on these areas).... this indicates that they are preparing comb to be laid into by the new queen.

until the new queen begins laying some bees (hives) will continue to prepare queen cells...

[Joseph Clemens]

Thanks Tecumseh, I am certainly experiencing a hefty learning curve. It does provide a degree of exhilaration.

I had a 3-frame medium mating nuc, in a 3 nuc condo. This mating nuc had one of my nurtured queen cells, which was due to hatch today or tomorrow. So I took a peek tonight and discovered the cell had been torn open and destroyed. It was on the center frame. Next I removed frame number two and discovered a normally hatched queen cell that had been hidden near the center of frame two. Next, I removed frame number three and saw the very dark, normally colored, virgin. I removed her and gave them another of my ripe cultured queen cells.

What a way to learn to be super extra vigilant about unwanted queen cells.

[Michael Bush]

>What a way to learn to be super extra vigilant about unwanted queen cells.

That's how everyone learns:
http://www.bushfarms.com/images/MissedQueenCell.JPG

[tecumseh]

yes joseph the learning curve is steep and the requirement to focus on detail and time are unavoidable. queen rearing is however something that just about every beekeeper could do, if they so desire.