Grafting And Raising Queen Honeybees

I show how I raise queen cells by grafting larvae into a hopelessly queenless cell starter, and the next day transferring the grafts into a queenright cell finisher hive. 10 days after grafting, the cells are ready to use, and the virgins will emerge a day later.

[@donbearden1953]

This is one of the best queen raising videos that I’ve seen.

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

Thanks

[@jessicamshannon]

Why have I spent the past hour learning about raising queen bees and proper introduction? I don't even like bees, I don't even have a backyard of my own. And yet Ive become entranced in the mesmerizing world of internet bees and beekeeping. Is this how they lure you in? You're hypnotized by relaxing bee videos until "Whoops! what's this? oh now there's a bunch of hives in my backyard and all my clothes are made of nets all of a sudden! Huh. I was just watching internet videos but I Guess Im a beekeeper now"

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

+jessicamshannon Now you see why honey bees are the most studied insect in the world. They're fascinating!

[@JHuff276]

I don't have a back yard either. I plan to use my Mom & Dad's. Haha. Luckily my Dad has always wanted to keep bees.

[@bluemoongypsies]

+jessicamshannon They are addictive, I didn't like bees, but at age 60 I got my first beehive and am so looking forward to spring so I can play with my bees again!

[@eugenecbell]

This is the best KZbin comment I have ever read. Thank you for being witty and not vile.

[@mikeries8549]

Come closer my little friends and then one stings you, you wake up, and the dreams of having these cute buzzy friends in their perfect insect world disappear as reality sets in because your paw really is swelling up in pain. Just came in from the mid-February check. Bees are buzzing.

[@decaturridgebees8761]

Tried a few ways this year. Do not underestimate the power of nurse bees. That’s their job and if you try and make queens with older bees you might get some but you won’t be as successful. Anyhow, good vid!

[@eugenecbell]

Thank you! I have been watching all the Queen Rearing videos I can find, I have read many Queen Rearing books, and I took one Queen Rearing class. Last year I reared 30 Queens and got two, I consider that a success. But, still I have had several questions. Your video just answered my outstanding questions. You also gave me several new ideas. Best video ever! Thanks again!

[@backtobasicstipswithtomrib19]

Very well done, you do a very good job explaining and showing what is going on. Thank You.

[@TheBeeChicken]

This was the best bee vid I've seen in 3 years. Thank you for taking the time to teach us.

[@andepenn71]

A very cool video mon! I am an amateur bee keeper and this is the next step for me - queen raring......thank you for sharing.

[@richardnoel3141]

Thanks. The best, clearest video I have seen. I am using a shaken swarm as my starter and finishing hive. I use dadant hives here in France, so partitioning off the hive with the queen present makes things complicated. Just grafted last week and it looks like I have 5 capped cells out of 20! First go, really pleased. Grafting us tricky and great tip on leaving them queen less for 24 hrs!

[@joelring8865]

You do a very good job of explaning queen rearing.

[@allrightyallmighty]

Hey we love your videos! We've been working with bees for a while but really want to make a split using OUR OWN QUEENS, as these are some incredible little bees we have. Your videos are some of the best and easiest to follow. Thank you for taking the time to make them. You're awesome.

[@ThisisBeekeeping]

Nice and neat tutorial. More instructive than reading a thick book on queen rearing.

[@KT-xj5gb]

The Scruffy Beeman

[@hubertpounall1323]

I watched this video somany times well done.

[@accoinstereo]

So fascinating, first exposure to bee keeping. Thank you for posting

[@sharonriley948]

hey Ohio Countryboy, I love to drive through the farming country of Ohio as we visit Northern Kentucky to visit our son's family several times per year. Great video. There are some newbies making videos and admitting they have never done the work before then lamenting about went wrong. Thank you for putting on useful information with a good degree of expertise. You come across as a professional and have a great teaching ability. I admire your work!! Thank You Sir....Rick in Pa

[@hubertpounall1323]

I voted you my IDOL in queen rearing you understand very well feeding makes the difference in breeding quality Queens.

[@irahodges9443]

Very interesting and you did an awesome job on this video thanks for sharing

[@whyeakle]

Great video TOCB! Very well done. I am currently raising my first queens - this will aid the process!

[@vernahelvikmontanamomma8737]

This is great, nice information step by step. It really helps thanks.I hope to see more.

[@MasterKenfucius]

Thank you for explaining everything so well. It's nice to know the reasoning behind what you did.

[@TheBran1973]

thanks a million for this video.i have to say thats its really good beekeepers like yourself that makes life so much easier for beginners like myself.i am going to use your system of queen rearing in conjuction with the fat beemans queencell timing box.that way i will know exactly how old my larve will be when grafted.wish me luck :)

[@scott33761]

This is a very good video, I watched it before and did not realize just how good it is, it must be a sleeper the more I watch it the better I like it. Thanks from NW Indiana.

[@joncotn]

.A well explained video for people wanting to raise queens 👍

[@johndick5632]

Ver, Very Informative. Step by Step information, really much appreciated.

[@beanb4]

Excellent explanation. Thank you!

[@marcman5109]

Subed really cool video on queen rearing I really like how gentle you are with the bees. I just started this year and have been learning alot but non the less still a great experience. Good luck

[@michael2B]

thank you I like your technique

[@wilfredstewart3348]

NZ beekeeper of 40 years experience here. I have always found a better result if you use 3 finisher hives. A finisher should only be expected to finish 12 to16 cells to get premium queens.

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

I start grafting when I see capped drones in hives. That is usually the first or second week of April. Weather for getting queens mated is a crap shoot though. If you are really lucky, you can get them mated in April. May is fairly decent, and June is reliable mating weather. I want early queens for making splits, so I start grafting as soon as I can. If they don't get mated early I am not out much. if they do get mated, that's great.

[@VirginiaWolf88]

Great Video Once again. I have some cells to finish and was looking at some techniques. This is what I need to do next. I like the way you smoked the bees off the cells. Great tip!!! Thank You for posting this!!!

[@Megahs2010]

U make it look simple - thanks for the video

[@xshanghu]

Good video.

[@josephhicks4776]

i tried it again with a hopeless hive that we had taken the queen out of on accident and put her in a nuc. The queen had been out of that hive for at least a week. I put my cellbar in the top brood box and the hive had a super on it. 24 hrs later i looked in there only to find about 8 queen cells freshly started in the super. both times this happened and they preferred the newer light wax vs the old comb in the hive to pull their cells on. the super was fairly new comb.

[@mishagray2835]

Very nice video!

[@mars1952]

Nice video, Thanks.

[@bruceturek262]

great video very informative perfect

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

You can use the new queens to split hives for increasing your hive numbers or to replace losses. Use queens to replace the worst performing queens to improve average hive performance. Use new queens to replace older queens, since hives with young queens are more productive. Usually 1 out of 75 queens is a super great queen with top genetic traits, so you have to raise a lot of queens to find these few top quality queens to graft from. Sell queens for $25, or nucs for $125.

[@MrSako270]

Mate,, thats one of the best videos that i have seen on queen raising,,, i vote theohiocountryboy as next USA president. I have just made my first queens 14 days ago and this video has given some answers to some of the question i have asked myself.

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

If you requeen hives with a cell, it also breaks the brood cycle and knocks back varroa mites a little. You can also put excess queens (or old queens you pinch) in a bottle of alcohol to make your own swarm lure.

[@Shlomotion925]

Try alfalfa pellets in your smoker.. smells sweet, burns very cool...and once it gets well lit, it will go for an entire day with a full charge... rarely goes out, and lots of smoke is just a couple puffs away... :)

[@cluelessbeekeeping1322]

I'm going to try this! Have you tried punky wood? So far, it's about the best stuff I've ever used. Cool burn, great smell and it burns 100% to ash. Also a very long burn. Dark smoke too! Pine is great too, but not so easy to find around here. Pine also doesn't last very long.

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

A plywood lid is a summer lid. In the winter, I use a piece of foamboard insulation inside a big ziplock bag under the plywood lid. That seals and insulates good enough.

[@josephhicks4776]

Your video is great and now thats its clicked you did say frames with pollen and honey on them. a misperception and newbie mistake on my part, THANKS so much for your time to help me understand.

[@edtkacik8247]

Thank you. Peace to you!

[@dritch2472]

clear and concise

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

50% is good for a beginner. Odds are, the bees didn't move the larvae. They just tried raising their own queens from larvae that were already in the wax cells. They often prefer larvae in wax cells over the grafts you give them. The way to prevent this is to make sure the cell starter is hopelessly queenless. Hopelessly queenless means there are no eggs or larvae the right age to raise a queen from. This forces the bees to use the grafts you gave them.

[@bendrissable]

Hi TOCB. Great video. It seems simple but i know its not, especially for the drones part of the job,the genetic selections...and the weather. Anyway great job ! Maybe you'd better put the frame cells 24h before grafting in another hive; or half a day if you sprinkle it with sugar syrup.

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

Yes, the 5 frame cell starter box is homemade. It is a standard nuc size. The screen bottom part where I put the sponge is also homemade. It is just to add ventilation to the cell starter. Any homemade bottom will work as long as the bees are confined and it gives them good ventilation and there is space for a wet sponge as a water source.

[@AnExcitingFear]

hey , thank you so much for posting your vids, its so satisfying to see someone having the same philosophy and techniques about bees. we have 90 hives (in Germany) and almost the same problems with varoa bug, foul brood and so on like you told. Its amazing how calm your bees stay when you open the hives. for how long are you bee keeper? all the best, see you soon on you tube,

[@6010babyhuey]

love the video thanks

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

The cell starter is right beside the finishing colony. A cell starter is completely closed and the bees are confined inside. It does not have an entrance. You only need to move bees a few miles away if they can fly away from the hive.

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

Bees make queen cells for different reasons. The ONLY time a hive will swarm when a queen cell is capped is when the hive raised queen cells with the intentions of swarming. If the hive does not want to swarm, it does not matter how many queen cells there are.

[@chuckhutto5118]

Do you put any frame of larvae or capped brood in the starter hive ?

[@never2late454]

Great video, You do it the same way I was taught years ago. Only difference is I use a nuc as a cell starter. I will have to build a screen box and give it a try. any way you can give a little more detail on the lower part of the cell starter, How it is put together?

[@josephhicks4776]

my cell starters i did just like you showed here on your video. the next day i had fresh cells in the wax that were not there when i placed my cellbar in my hive and no larvae in my cups. the queenless hive that i accidently took the queen out of had been without a queen for little more than week so not hopeless but queenless. the cell starters you are using are not hopelessly queenless and they are drawing out your cells.

[@renfrewcalgary2830]

very, very new to this but how cool! enjoyed the video and learned lot's; thanks :)

[@MohammedAslamtit-bitsoflife]

Bravo...

[@Hives2honeyfarm]

I appreciate the video. Very informative, but I have one question. Do you put each queen cell in (a queen less hive or nuc of course) just the way they are, or do you protect the cell so to give the hive time to accept her?

[@stevenjohn3143]

Great video! When you add a sponge to your swarm box do you also add any feed also to get them full of royal jelly? Just wondered if this helps at all, I guess it wouldn't hurt. Thanks you.

[@alcidesdelos]

MUY BUEN VÍDEO , GRACIAS ...YA ME SUSCRIVI ..NO ENTIENDO INGLES PERO SOLO CON VERLO ,YA VEO COMO HACERLO ...SOY APICULTOR DE URUGUAY , SALUDOS !!!

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

The larvae are wet from the royal jelly the bees feed them. The surface tension of the royal jelly holds them in the cups.

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

Yes, the old queen is still in the queenright cell finisher hive. A queen excluder i used to keep her in the bottom box so she can't tear down the grafted cells.

[@brunosulikowski]

Harvey today I setup a mannlake twin mini nuc. I cut honey comb and fitted it to a frame for each side. 2 frames of foundation for each side as well. Feeding high protein Polin blocks in the feeding well. Next I took 2 cells and placed one in each side. While I was transfering them I noticed they were turning brown at the ends saw movement in one looking through at light. Than shook bees from 3 brood frame's from 2 hives. Now I'm thinking I have to keep them locked up for a day or 2. I'm sure some of the bees will return to their hive if I left it open. Your thought on them being locked up? They have good venting in nuc. Thanks Beesbuzz52

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

In the video I said I would put frames with honey and pollen in the cell starter. I also said the bees glands would be full of royal jelly after 24 hours because they did not have any brood to feed. It's ok to have a frame of emerging brood in the cell starter. You just need to make sure you do not have any eggs or young larvae in the cell starter. Be careful making assumptions. They will get you in trouble.

[@timcaron9049]

A great presentation and easy to follow. I was however a little disappointed that you did not show the actual grafting. I would have loved to see a larvae and what to look for. I think that you can actually buy Royal Jelly, so that would probably speed things up? Do you recommend purchased royal jelly? Great job. Have a great season. Tim

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

I don't have any camera equipment that will fit inside a cell to show the actual grafting. Look for a larva about the size of a comma. Some people use royal jelly, some use water. I don't prime the cups at all. I've heard that if you use royal jelly, the bees remove it and replace it with their own royal jelly. I don't recommend purchased royal jelly for grafting. The bees are able to produce royal jelly on their own just fine.

[@Tonnsfabrication]

One thing I learned with my first few splits is that bees like to make more bees. 15 hours into the split and you better be looking closely for queen cells, they're definitely in there if there are any near suitable eggs available. I had ordered Russian queens and destroyed what queen cells I found before her introduction, even with a new queen in the nuc the bees will still make queen cells. Its almost like once they start making royal jelly they get on a kick with it and cant stop. Sadly of the two splits only one Russian queen remains. I think in the other hive they killed her or she may have simply left? Either way they're queen less now. I'll try to merge the two nucs maybe or give the queenless nuc a good frame of eggs here soon? Had I known they'd be so persistent in queen making I'd have saved $100.00 on two queens and simply split them and walked away.

[@davidshubin5324]

Hi, I'm just a. Newbee, but I have a silly question. Why did you want/prefer a Russian queen? What do they offer that the others don't? Thanks for the help. dbshu1234

[@Tonnsfabrication]

I wanted to have diversified genetics in my yard. Ive read that Russians will winter well and also that once they get going in the spring they take off with a strong attitude and workhorse through the season.

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

How do you know the queen didn't lay eggs in the super? On the 4th day, the eggs would have been the right age to raise a queen from, and by 1 week the cells would have been freshly started. Bees will raise queens in new comb before old comb if given the choice. It is easier for them to tear down the bottom cell wall on fresh wax. Also, how do you know the hive was hopelessly queenless? There is a difference between a queenless hive and a hopelessly queenless hive.

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

Gentle bees. Experienced beekeepers can work bees and get seldom stung.

[@kennyb2443]

ENJOYED, do you have another video after you have taken the queen cell out? The how to's of getting them to breed and so forth. Thanks

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

I haven't had problems with foulbrood. It is uncommon in my area. I began keeping bees in 2007.

[@lockhack]

I enjoyed your video but, as a new beekeeper, this leaves me with a few questions. Why so many queens and what do you do with the extra queens?

[@carsimex]

when you making up cell starter, are you keeping it in the same yard or move it few miles away?

[@antimonykid]

What time of the year do you start the queen raising? Can you sell queens all season long?

[@gumbi1972]

Can you do a video showing how to make your lower screened piece? I like the looks of it and it seems sturdier than most I have seen and would like to be able to make one!

[@dkaiyumi]

Hello I really liked your video I´m also a Beekeeper here in Brazil I just did te grafting last week 12/12 I just want to know after the grafting the bees startet to do the queen cell from where the queen bees will emerge so after those queen cells are closed I can put some cages to prevent the 1st queen to emerge to kill the others. Thanks

[@alanporter2694]

Good video. Would you have any comments about turning over the larvae when transferring them to the cell cups. I have read many books that say the larvae will drown. Others have said that they tried it and it made no difference. What are your thoughts on this?

[@stevegh8157]

Great video, if you are putting the cells back into the hive for the bees to finish off. Why does your existing queen not fly off, surely she knows there are new queen cells even if she can not go up to them? Would I have to put a queen excluder to stop her from escaping? thanks for the video

[@Shakingstevesallotment]

hi, great video's, as a newbie bee keeper here's a crazy question, are the larva "sticky" as what stops them falling out of the cups once put in the nuc? cheers

[@wilmorris1955]

When you open the nuc to remove (and later place) the grafting frame in, why do the bees not all come flying out from being closed in for 24 hours? In the video when you placed the grafting frame in, they look so calm. I can't understand why if they were closed in with only a couple frames of honey/pollen but no brood.

[@rayjohnson8329]

If you add them back to the hive for finishing, wouldn’t that make them prepare to swarm or attack the current queen?

[@alcidesdelos]

gracias por responder , ya he visto casi todos los vídeos de malka y están muy bien , pero los vídeos de malka no te explican al detalle ( por ejemplo el momento justo en q la larva esta pronta para el traslave ( vos hasta agregaste una imagen ) muy buenos todos tus vídeos , sigue así.....yo humildemente te apoyo con mi suscripción .....saludos desde Uruguay

[@honeybeeborn1250]

Could you tell me where you get your screened box that holds your sponge? It is a wonderful video, and I like the idea of the small cell starter.

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

Honey Bee Born Hi. That is a homemade screened box.

[@TheShooting2]

Great video but I have one question. Since a queen cell should be capped in about 9 days, why can't you leave the frame in the starter hive until the cells are capped and then move them where needed? If I give them a full frame of honey and keep the sponge wet, wouldn't that be enough to last 9 days? Going to try this next week but I'll do it your way. Thanks!

[@nated186]

you showed a picture of the right size larvae, can you explain a little what a day late and a day early looks like? I'm new with my first hive.

[@rsikumardasa1983]

I watched this nice vid again, you said queen fed nicely she will be a best queen better than pedigree queen.please explain, than I saw you fill in the feeder with sugar syrup. My question is what is the queen fed,besdies royal jelly .I appreciate your help .Thank you sir.

[@josephhicks4776]

the frames that you put in your cell starter that had bees on them were there no brood in them? that could be where i messed up, i saw you place two frames in the cell starter with bees on them out of the hive you made your cell starter out of and just assumed they had brood in them since they came out of a hive with a queen in it.

[@bentonkb]

Excellent video. I'm going to try raising queens next year. Why do you use two different hives for cell starting and cell finishing? Couldn't you just keep feeding the cell starter hive for 9 more days?

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

+Keith Rider It's possible to use the same queenless hive as a cell starter and finisher. However, you need a high population of bees, and the bees need to be able to get out and forage in addition to the feed you provide.

[@jimt3014]

Thank you for the step by step. Do you have to put the grafted frame into a queenright colony to finish or could you leave them in a the builder with lots of bees and resources to finish to day 10? What is the advantage to having the old queen in the brood box below the excluder?

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

Yes, you can use a queenless hive as both a starter and a finisher. I believe queen cells are usually fed better in a queenright finisher hive.

[@jackbquick123]

TheOhioCountryboy was a great video but one question,, why didn't you show at least one larva extraction. I was very curious as to how it looked. Not putting off on video just some of us want to actually see what the right way looks like. Thanks for all the great information. I'm just starting out with my 2 hives.

[@mechanicalbu11]

didn't know that. now we know the rest of the story.

[@houstonsheltonbees814]

👍

[@abeone83]

Great video! I'm going to use this technique Asap. But I got a question, do u put royal jelly inside cell cups prior or after u insert the larva?? Is this necessary to have better %.. Can u give me more details or maybe show us a video on how u insert larva into cups..Thank u once again and hope to hear from u

[@rsikumardasa1983]

wow thank you so much ,I have watched tons of how to graft queen cell,but you top them all 5 stars.Question did you make that 5 frame nuc where you place the sponge .It is 5 frames !.nice thank you soooooo much.

[@jeffreybraddock3031]

was it only honey and pollen in the starter box? and have you ever tried grafting eggs?

[@igorskakovsky6768]

Thanks for good instructions. In my best hive where brood just as good as you show in your video I am having hard time to find young enough larva. The one I have seeing so far look larger and I see no royal jelly in it. Any comments?

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

+Igor Skakovsky Feed syrup to stimulate jelly production. Jewelers magnifying glasses with a light often help to see the small larvae.

[@igorskakovsky6768]

Thanks, actually I was able to find small enough larva in the upper box unexpectedly. I have set the finishing box differently. Right next to the queen cells on both sides I have put young larva to and hatching frames to have more nursing bees.

[@michaelkieran3006]

is it possible for the cells to be completed start to finish by the starter hive ? so no transfer to a finisher hive ? great videos

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

Yes, but a separate starter and finisher is a more efficient use of resources. It must also be a queenless hive.

[@josephhicks4776]

This was my first year trying grafting. I did just like you did on here but i used plastic jzbz cups. i got about a 50% acceptance rate but the bees took all the larva out and put them in the wax foundation! any help with this?

[@havrer7322]

Hi, Thanks for the information that you've got to be nice I'm Kurdistan in the apiary beekeeper myself do you like Harvey Rostami

[@swvastories3498]

What do you do with all those queens once they are ready to hatch? I would like to raise my own queens eventually but I only want to try like 2 at a time.

[@TheOhioCountryboy]

+Scott K. I use the new queens to replace older, under-performing queens. I also use the new queens to make up nucleus hives for overwintering. If you only want to raise a few queens, it's easier to do a walkaway split. And it is always better to raise a few extra queen cells, since not all virgin queens will get mated. You should expect 25% of virgin queens to not get mated or not return from their mating flights. (Got lost, eaten by a bird or dragonfly, hit by car windshield, etc.)

[@kendrah9601]

Wow

[@priyankakumar8851]

How many colonies could be produced by grafting in a year?

[@ShawnDones]

What time of year do you begin this process?

[@chuckhutto5118]

Thanks. How early are you able to start making queens in your part of Ohio ? I'm in Southwest Virginia. Rocky Mount, Va.

[@josephhicks4776]

so using wax cups is better?