🔵 How to make Queens with a 5 frame Nuc Part 1

Queen Rearing for Beginners. In this video series, we will show the entire process of how to make plentiful queens for the hobby and small sideline operation using a 5 frame Nuc. #Beekeeping #honeybee #Beekeeper

[@shrekpower]

I laughed so hard when you said "ask me how I know". I can feel the pain you've had before hahaha!

[@johnwatson3913]

If I could like this more than once I would, thanks for all of your awesome videos.

[@brownlmatt]

I'm loving your work. Thank you very much 😊

[@sharonriley948]

Kamon, I have always been a hobbyist beekeeper 30+ years. Have never successfully made nice queens unless I found a big queen cell in another hive....I look forward to seeing your series on queens!!!! I have usually resorted to buying queens from someone else, which is not always a pleasure in the end result. Thanks so much young man....Rick in Pa.

[@mccfish]

Spring can’t come fast enough to start this. Enjoy your videos

[@thatguy3456]

I know I can’t wait for bee season to start agian

[@Dstick1Spearfishing]

Wow you thought you were busy in the Bee yard, look at all the comments. Thanks for sharing the videos and answering peoples questions.

[@fayekeller7411]

As a new Beekeeper I'm delighted to learn all I can! Thanks a bunch!

[@kamonreynolds]

Thanks for Watching Faye! Hope they help!

[@barrykasdorf5633]

Thank you for this video! Tried it. Fantastic!! Also, it’s good to know that shaking bees at the entrance works! Great tips!

[@kamonreynolds]

Glad it was helpful!

[@TheBeeLadyApiary9992]

Hi We are enjoying your videos so very much! They are packed with information. We went into winter with 30 hives, lost 4, just split 5 and caught 2 swarms from one in our bee yard we knew was going to swarm no matter what. So now we are up to 33! When, what a journey! We attribute our winter success with our nucs from last year. We purchased them from an Apiary who is into getting and raising queens specifically bred for cold weather and resistant to mites. As soon as we opened the nucs, we knew these bees were different. We are working toward to raising our own queens and are gathering information from beekeepers of which you are at the top of the list! We belong to a commercial bee club here, who because of their size well over 1K members) and hives (100+ each beekeeper) not to mention political connections is on top of most things in our state. Such as mite spraying from those planes way up you can barely see, stuff like hat. Living in a large rural farming community we are somewhat protected from that stuff, not to mention rather large beekeepers in our area. Yet and still, wee are aiming for 50 hives for our foundation. Like many others in the north, we never know what the winter will bring so over the years we all develop ways to protect our bees and sooner or later we find what we believe to be the perfect combination of packed food storage, protection etc. Wanted to share a bit about us and to let you know how much you are helping beekeepers out here!

[@kamonreynolds]

Sounds great! We wish you all nothing but the best and hope our videos help!

[@geraltofrivia8529]

Thanks Kamon. This is a great series.

[@fuzzball57]

I really like your methods of teaching, very easy to understand. Thanks.

[@jaimeRodriguez-vs5hz]

Thank you Camon for your videos. They are very educational.

[@SquirrelsForAll]

Great video, Kamon. Thank you for posting.

[@deboracroft1292]

Wow you do such a great job explaining things! Thank you so much!🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

[@kevinbird254]

Thanks for another great video.

[@alanmiller7157]

Great video , Thanks for your hard work

[@darrenpierce9903]

Great video's Kamon. Appreciate all your advice. Keep up the good work. 👍😀

[@LarryLeesBees]

Thanks again for another great video Sir! I appreciate your knowledge and sharing with the rest of us.

[@richardkuhn8115]

Great video Kamon. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

[@justinmoore881]

Great video Thanks for the info..👊from Tuscaloosa, AL

[@massachusettsprepper]

This looks like it’s going to be a fantastic series my friend. Thanks for sharing.

[@DeeNashreddirt]

Thank you Kamon and Laurel. I learn so much.

[@endrittroni6454]

I actually tried the same methods but with a 7 frame nuc, from 45 they build 40 cells, full of royal jelly. Thank you Kamon for the great videos!

[@endrittroni6454]

Can I put another 30 cells on the same hive or maybe its to much ?

[@sangaygyampobhutia7301]

Great videos. Thanks.

[@houstonshelton5034]

Great content. Thanks Thumbs up from SE Kentucky 👍

[@baddestbees3347]

She looked good, good idea on the bee bread I'm glad you mentioned that, I had been thinking of doing that early spring but had since forgotten, I seen where nurse be 8 to 10 days old produce the most royal jelly however I think bee population is most important issue, I spray my with sugar water and stimulate them so to speak.Good video Kamon , glad to see queen stuff too

[@timmorris1246]

Great start on this subject. Thanks for all you do!!

[@jeffery19677]

I really don't need to subscribe to another channel, but your calm and reasonable explanations and the great videography makes me want to see them all. So here I am...

[@kamonreynolds]

Thanks Jeff welcome aboard!

[@mustafagunes.09]

Well done ! thank u for this nice video

[@gemibees]

Great Great channel men keep up the good work

[@RLPressley]

Looking forward to seeing all these videos! So well done!!! Thank you!

[@stevenbaker839]

Enjoying the videos. Keep up the good work

[@rexweston2227]

great video, have tried twice this year with no success, want to try again. would love to see how you built the starter/ finisher from the start. the rules you talk about could be invaluable.

[@al9094]

I like dees bees videos i learns uha lots watching you there's no bees hear anymore .id like to brings them backs. Thanks for the video.

[@martynjohnson6853]

We are season 6 keepers and my Wife and I enjoy your videos and have learnt a lot from you! Keep up the good work (both of you) Thank-you. Martyn & Izzy U.K.

[@OklahomaBeekeeper]

Congratulations on your viewership increase. Your doing a great job teaching and sharing your beekeeping experience.

[@helenhilman]

Going to give this a shot starting this evening. Getting our Cell Starter set up and over flowing with bees, brood frame, beebread, honey, water, syrup and pollen patties. Need to get some Queens raised ASAP. I will graft about 30 larva either Friday or Saturday. Wish us luck. We will let you know how our process turns out. I did successfully raise queens last year using separate cell starters and finishers. But I feel this will be much easier for us overall, as we are just small scale. Thank you

[@konradrueb1567]

One word kamon.Outstanding.this is important info for the newbies.Keep up the great work.🐝safe and keep your smoker lit. Konrad

[@Rabbit-ge6ns]

Thanks for the info

[@stevesoutdoorworld4340]

Great work keep the vids coming.

[@rosemarymittens-jq3gm]

Mark from St.helena lsland lam learn so much from you.keep up the teacher, l learn more from you.

[@todpatn9782]

Love your show

[@kamonreynolds]

Thanks so much Tod!

[@joetripp123]

3k subs 2 years ago to 34k subs today. Congrats on the growth. So step 1 - pack the hive with nurse bees, bee bread, honey, and larvae. Check a few times to make sure they aren't starting new queen cells and destroy them if they are before adding your graphed cells. Add access to queen candy, ultra bee, and water. Make the nuc feel like food is coming in big time and there's no reason to hold back on the queen cells. 2 days later remove the larvae frame (royal jelly source (add back to another hive)) and add your graphed cells beside a bee bread frame.

[@charlieandpattisplace]

Thanks from Marengo, WI.

[@davidaksamit4177]

I always want to get in to beekeeping i like your shows

[@hootervillehoneybees8664]

Great vid thanks .. im in the middle of building queen rearing yard here southeast Michigan. I have 30 mating nucs up and running with 20 more soon to be up and running.. goal was 100 but not happening this year .. ill play with the 50 this year get things fine tuned .. very greatful people are willing to share their methods thanks

[@kamonreynolds]

Sounds great! good luck on your queen rearing!

[@haroldraceedge1168]

Great video on queen rearing. I have tried this and was successful in raising some queens. This is like all things beekeeping; takes time and practice. Every effort is a new learning experience. By the way thanks for bringing up the Summer Dearth, it has started in SC and has my attention this year.

[@jpthedelawarebeeman6239]

wohoo free stuff ! Awesome Kamon ---- I could use a smoker that has cold heat lol !!!!

[@kamonreynolds]

You and me both! Stingless bee would be even better!

[@sonofthunder.]

good info, thanks

[@rossg87]

Kamon another great video. I was in the one of my hives today and on a few frames they are building mounds of extra deep comb. I’m using 10 frame deeps on foundation with the frames tight together. These mounds face undrawn foundation. First year package installed late April in CT. Thank you for any comment. Ross

[@kamonreynolds]

It does happen to me as well. I try to do what I can to prevent it. I will try to do a video on that soon!

[@bruceford9036]

Outstanding!

[@dustinclark4217]

I just got my two mediums set up and introduced the queens today, cant wait to check on them in a few days. So much to learn and your videos and my go to source. Thanks for all of the information and content, its greatly appreciated.

[@Nobadbees]

Great job.

[@brianmahern6699]

I dilute royal jelly with distilled water. It goes farther. Works well.

[@mustafagunes.09]

Well done! Thank you for this nice video. I'm following you

[@beekingdom2457]

Nice work and good video

[@sangaybhutia6432]

Great video

[@jeremyhuggins8796]

New subscriber! This video is very informative. Looking forward to watching many more. Thank you.

[@honeyhobbits8868]

Great video! I was looking for affirmation that breeding queens in smaller boxes is not only possible but practical and will produce good queens. Thank you for sharing! I also work my bees without a shirt when it's getting hot! Shorts and sandals too. ;) I swell and itch more from mosquito bites than bee stings these days.

[@kamonreynolds]

Honey hobbits! I love that name!

[@honeyhobbits8868]

Aw, thank you, Kamon!

[@ndahimanasenyana4125]

Thank you for good video, I need to start beekeeping process, my simple question is What do you put in this smoke bottle??

[@danmweu3701]

i like your work i wish you come to kenya n teach me more

[@branchbrookfarm]

Nice video...Thanks Kamon!!

[@lynsmith2698]

I am pretty pumped, i picked up a couple things today so i can start rearing my own queens next spring. I live in a somewhat remote area and only get mail a few times a week. So its really hard to get queens mailed to me. So i am excited to watch these videos over and over again during the winter so come spring...i might know what i am doing. Except...i told James i needed a big red truck so i could take eggs out of the frames and into the queen cells. I dont think he will get me one.

[@Mackabees]

Great video again. Another giveaway. Awesome. Plan on graphing next year.

[@kamonreynolds]

Awesome Mack you're going to like it!

[@Mackabees]

@@kamonreynolds That's for sure. I bought a New River Bee OSDA VSH queen with shipment in June. Hoping she makes it through winter for next year grafting.

[@trichard5106]

Thanks !!

[@Huntnlady7]

Question: When you are "making queens" in the Nuc box, the old queen (in this case a proven 3 year old queen) is NOT PRESENT, correct? The Nuc is queenless?

[@kamonreynolds]

Correct this colony is queenless

[@BeeTechKashmir]

very nicely explained , want to hear more from you.

[@Wosiewose]

"This stuff is so nutritious... however, it tastes disgusting." I laughed so hard...

[@Rick78626]

Great video. Loved the ending "let's cut this video. Thanks for w"

[@kamonreynolds]

Haha yes my wife was like "Well you said to cut it!" One of these days she is going to do a video!

[@GlacierRidgeHoney]

Excellent video, Kamon. Two questions - 1) Is the entry to your starter open or closed? 2) Since you're using bee candy to supplement (and not sugar syrup), should water be made available to the starter population? Thanks for the advice!

[@smokymountainbeekeep]

How many queens are you able to successfully raise in the "starter/finisher" hive (4 or 5 frame deep)? And also curious how many do you think is possible to raise in a double 5-frame deep? I do enjoy your videos, thanks for sharing your information

[@kamonreynolds]

The bigger the starter/finisher the more cells you can raise. I bet you could graft 45 a round in a double nuc no sweat just keep them stocked with capped brood and feed and if they get too strong pull some bees.

[@Nick-jr6qe]

Great videos

[@rica6408]

You the bee legend

[@johnnybigpotato2404]

Bee Bread Bro. :) lots of good stuff in a small space. Thanks. :)

[@HDMIOT]

Thank you, i wondered what royal jelly might taste like and if it was possibly poisonous for humans. Anything that taste awful is usually good for you.

[@mattnoble1714]

Hi Kamon, we are in eastern KY near Hazard. This is the first I have heard to add royal jelly to queen cup, do you find that it helps. Can we use our Chinese grafting tool to put the royal jelly in the cup. And do you use the starter/finisher method with your large production methods. Keep the great videos coming, thanks from Lost Creek KY.

[@hootervillehoneybees8664]

Called priming the cell

[@kamonreynolds]

You can dry graft without royal jelly priming and I don't see huge differences between the two. But it does make it easier to drop the larvae especially when you are new.

[@kamonreynolds]

Yes, I use the starter and finishers on my large ones. However, I am dabbling with large all in one hive starter/finisher

[@schandrakanth9068]

Thanks for fine info sir🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏👍

[@kathyhathaway8823]

One other question when you pull bee bread from a hive to put in the freezer. How long can you store it in the freezer before using it in a queen rearing box ?? Thanks

[@rehmangusandapiary9024]

Kamon my memory is not what it used to be so bare with me. The is a foggy recollection to not feed powdered sugar to honeybees. I am intrigued with your mention of feeding the powdered sugar mixture in the starter hive. Is this still your method of feeding the starter hive? Thanks for all you are doing for the beekeepers. Philip Rehm from Arkansas.

[@kamonreynolds]

Thank you PhiIip! I prefer 1:1 syrup but you can feed queen candy (which has powdered sugar and honey) if you want. The cornstarch is bad in winter but when they can get a cleansing flight it works good. Most of the time I just feed syrup.

[@rehmangusandapiary9024]

@@kamonreynolds Thank you much for your reponse!

[@romoshka1]

After 8 years this is the year that I’m committed to making my own queens. My question is: as far as I can determine there are no colonies within miles of my lil apiary. Since I’ve read that queens won’t mate with drones from their hive how will my virgins mate? And if the drones from my various other hives all go to the same DCA how would the queen determine which were drones from her hive vs drone from the adjacent hives?

[@stgermain1074]

Kamon, how do we know when dearth has started? Here in Rutherford Co, it seems like the only things blooming are queen anne's lace and buttercups, with a little clover and aster finishing up.

[@kamonreynolds]

I will address the dearth in the next video or 2 it is starting to hit here. Not full on dearth but things are quickly slowing down and robbing will start if honey or sugar syrup is spilt

[@jaminsmith9705]

My queen left and took majority of my hive in one of my boxes. New queen hatched and hive started rebuilding the past few weeks. Now I cannot find the new queen but I do have some larva being layed(not much). What is your suggestion to getting this hive healthy again? I have 4 other healthy hives available to pull from. This is my 1st yr so I am very new to this all.

[@kathyhathaway8823]

Kamon if I freeze bee bread for grafting how long should I let it throw before I put in a starter hive . Thanks

[@hootervillehoneybees8664]

If i had 10 frame box say 8 frames of brood .. would i be better off removing some brood frames shaking the bees back in box .. or shaking in nurse bees from different colony... just had buckfast colony go queenless for whatever reason plan on using them .. its a double deep setup for black locast flow ..

[@kamonreynolds]

It could work just make sure you have crazy nurse bee density older foragers wont count and if their is not enough feed or forage they will just use up resources

[@saracarnicom5318]

You tasted the royal jelly?! LOL, metal.

[@SkyWalker-se7su]

What temps are those cardboard Nuc boxes good for? Thanks

[@thatguy3456]

When grafting like you said you don’t get every cell to be a queen. How many larva should I graft for every queen I want to make? What side of a German grafting tool should I use when grafting? Thanks Kamon I have watched this video three times and I am about to do my firs grafting this. I would have already but I in Maine.

[@scottpierson7495]

Kamon, I’m taking the leap for the 1st time making my own queens to save money, did 4 walk away splits in February, 3 came back mated and doing well. I’m going to attempt Grafting, any suggestions in what I can do to see larvae better? Can I carefully move back some comb to expose larvae better? Do I shake 4 frames of nurse bees plus ad 4 brood frames? Or just shake and give them resources? I tried grafting few weeks ago but struggled seeing down into her holes. Thank You

[@ferncompton4906]

What was that about sprinklers? I have sprinklers and use them 3 times a week in my yard with my bees. I enjoy your videos. They are informational! It’s like reading the Better Queens book but with real visuals. Thank you!

[@kamonreynolds]

It was a test done in germany and when they sprinkled the hive with water the bees started feeding less protein to the larvae since they were not foraging pollen. That is why we want to feed our queen rearing colonies so that they never slow down and our queens get feed copiously

[@ferncompton4906]

Kamon Reynolds - Tennessee's Bees That makes sense. I was concerned with night watering the sound would cause the lack of brood. 😅

[@tonypaliotti206]

hi ,do you move your nurse bee,queer cell rearing nuc to another yard ? loaded my starter yesterday and about 3/4 went back. trying to graft for the first time this week ..here in ct,northeast ????

[@barrykasdorf5633]

Hi Kamon, Is the nuc starter/finisher good for several graft cycles or is it best to start over each time? Hope your season is going well. Cheers, Barry

[@rustyrulze]

Is there a max number of queens you can raise in a 5 frame nuc at a time as opposed to using an 8 framer ? Obviously it would take more resources to pack out an 8 framer. That pollen sub you fed, is that purely a bought product or have you combined it with other ingredients to make that paste like substance, or is that like a pollen patty.

[@jasonstorm8315]

I caught this video late, if just starting out. You don't have any frames with bee bread on them could you take a frame an add some pollen sub to it an use it instead of the bee bread it self? an thanks again great videos!!!!

[@kamonreynolds]

Hey Jason, ideally find a frame from a big have that has some beebread if possible but yes if you continually feed sub without breaks it will work just fine. Though I prefer having both!

[@erinstehelin]

Love your videos! Does the cell builder nuc have a open entrance allowing bees to come and go? Would you leave it open after the queen cups are added?

[@charitablemiraclebeekeeper1200]

Aw shucks 😂 i missed the queen rearing give away

[@garymoore5774]

Does this starter box need to be moved out of the bee yard? Thanks for this. Most of us just need to make a dozen or so queens.

[@kamonreynolds]

It can stay in the bee yard. This one has 100 colonies within a mile of it

[@christopherdavis9012]

What tool do I need for raising queens ? I need help on this can you help me more please

[@theimpulse77]

If you're talking about moving larvae what you need is grafting tools or a nicot box. Then you put the cups with the larvae onto bars on a special cell builder frame. Any of the reputable bee supply places have the stuff you need.

[@josephwoodall832]

I'm very interested in queen rearing but I've read rescently and seen a couple videos hives with two queens. How does this happen? Could these circumstances be recreated? Seems to me two queens in a hive could be quite a boon.

[@andrewklahold2880]

I think i would sooner be a winner of 3 or four queens as to a smoker although a smoker would be nice

[@rayjohnson8329]

What are the characteristics of bee bread as opposed to just pollen. Is it easy to tell the difference?

[@kamonreynolds]

Pollen is turned into beebread very quickly by the bees so pretty much if it is stored in combs it is considered beebread at that point.

[@mrcshoneybees]

If you add the royal jelly, Can the larvae drown if you put them in the cell wrong? I did taste it and your right. Thanks for the great Videos.

[@kamonreynolds]

Drop them down in and the nurse bees will take care of the larvae. They make it easy!