Making Queen bees with a Chinese grafting tool

[@baddestbees3347]

The Beekeepers you mentioned overwinter their bees too👍 not just buying packages and raising em into nucs and claiming that they are "their" stock👎.lol Im not against raising and re selling,but SAY so..where's their HONEY YARD is what I wanna know 😂😂😂.. I have nucs u can work in rain without protection,I've got a four Deep hive right now that'll staple your pants to your legs too..🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

[@kamonreynolds]

Haha yeah those 4 deep hives can get rambunctious! Especially on certain days.

[@MegaDavyk]

Chinese grafting tools need to be tweaked then they are hard to beat as they will pick up royal jelly with the lava. Sand the tongue with fine sand paper to make it thinner, bend the tongue into a slight curve and wet the tongue in you mouth to lubricate it.

[@johnmyers3889]

I was taught the same thing by the person that showed me to graft and it's true if u sand it down the tip all u have to do is push down and it picks up the larva no scooping.

[@baddestbees3347]

Sanding over rated in my opinion , never had to..but whatever helps you I guess,if it works for you go for it.

[@MegaDavyk]

@@baddestbees3347 It helps a lot with grafting from new comb and if you are not prepared to work on them a bit half of them may be next to useless.

[@kathyhathaway8823]

Hello kamon I know this video is a little old but a question what color JzBz cup lets you see the jelly thru the sides the best . I am finally going to give it a try this year . Thanks for all the informative videos you an Laurel put out . Thanks

[@kamonreynolds]

The green yellow ones are my favorite

[@gingergard579]

Kamon your cute I will give you that and I know your wife thinks so

[@kamonreynolds]

Lol thank Ginger! My friends say she just feels sorry for me but even if that is what is keeping her around I will gladly accept it!

[@charlieandpattisplace]

Spot on "guys"... Love the vids. I too, recommend UOG, Ian Steppler, Devan Rawn, and now you since I've stumbled upon you and Laura (?) I use the Chinese tool also, and love em. Keep the vids coming as I'm sure folks are learning bunches from them.

[@baddestbees3347]

Charlie Beyersdorf only person he forgot was Richard Noel ,next Michael Palmer, VERY good

[@rebeccafontes3717]

Thank you for starting this series on making queens. After 2 seasons of good intentions you inspired me to go ahead and do my first real grafts - looks like 50% take. Am up in northern Kentucky so your season is a week or two ahead, making your videos very timely. Keep up the great work!

[@dennisanthony8335]

Rebecca Fontes I’m in north central Kentucky Rebecca about 50 miles southwest of Louisville,👍

[@kamonreynolds]

Awesome hope it helps!

[@jpthedelawarebeeman7887]

Hi Kamon, don't sell yourself short. You are knowledgeable and help people with your videos. Keep up the great work buddy.

[@kamonreynolds]

Thanks JP

[@MohamedUAE]

you made me laugh about the camera too close! am at my office upstairs and the kids heard me laughing downstairs, so they were like "dad, what's going on up there!?" , funny. Keep it up plz.

[@stevesoutdoorworld4340]

The Mann lake tool is better i think because it has a bamboo plunger.

[@thuffman44]

LOL @ the intro!! Extremely helpful video!! Here in my area of southwest Florida, I'm already raising very strong colonies which could be used as cell starters, but I've always hesitated to start queen rearing. I guess because the process seems so complicated. By watching & listening to your videos, it seems to really help simplify the whole thing. Thanks! Wishing you and your bees continued success! 🐝🐝🐝☮️☯️

[@347raptor]

Love your videos. I am a new beekeeper (May 2019) and your close-ups really help to show me what a larvae looks like. Would appreciate seeing a close-up of what the different cells look like. Example - Capped Honey vs Capped Brood vs Open Brood vs Pollen Stores vs Royal Jelly. Your explanations are very clear and your camera work is exceptional. Maybe you might consider working 110 hr per week.!!! You really help to simplify things & the camera work is so clear. Thanks again.

[@Mackabees]

Thank you and wife for creating this video. Keep up the awesome work.

[@arum236]

Good perspective towards the plastic waste commonly used within beekeeping. Don't name drop however ;) Use homemade wax queen cups. Ontario beekeeper :) Sorry. Thanks.

[@mikeb7724]

Thanks Kamon - am in South Africa and very few bee keepers are knowledgeable in Queen rearing. Would like to eventually give it a go.Keep up the great work!!!

[@kamonreynolds]

Thanks Mike!

[@angiekyle2942]

Love you guys. The camera gal is awesome!

[@SquirrelsForAll]

Great video! LOL! Thanks for wonderful advice and instruction.

[@yukonjeffimagery]

Thanks bro. I need to make a few queens someday.

[@joselito79766]

We have Swiss grafting tools, do you mean those?

[@nancynolton6079]

Appreciate your beekeeping approach and outlook - full of common sense and doable. Can tell you're lovin life and happy. Beekeeping... Ain't life grand!

[@bushtop1179]

Bee suits are out of stock on your Amazon store, perhaps you can update the link.

[@MrBigVK]

Don't sale yourself short...you are a pro.

[@ShirenFaresta]

The queen cell size please!!!!!🙏🙏🙏

[@jackbquick123]

I will have to try this one day. Thanks for detailed information ℹ

[@richardkuhn8115]

Great Video Kamon and worthy assistant! Thanks.

[@HILLBILLYSFIREWOOD]

Hey hey, have a good day buddy. Buzz buzz

[@gusmitchellcranesnesthoney6529]

I like the Chinese tool because of the amount of jelly you can scoop with the larvae

[@kamonreynolds]

Yeah Gus you been telling me to try it for a while!

[@thrasher153]

I just found your channel last week. You had me laughing when you started to lose it at the beginning. Good videos and explanations man.

[@charlesgolden1418]

I find it near impossible to chinese graft from new wax - any hints? Also, you can find SS grafting tools on Ebay for $5 or so............

[@decaturridgebees8761]

I ran into this today. It was miserable

[@terrysaunders8948]

nice to no all this and hi from maine

[@greghill9958]

I have found 1 to 1 and 1\2 days old are the best.

[@philhardie8566]

Hi there Monsieur, as you share all your thoughts and information on beekeeping here is a little payback. On a video you spoke of insolation and isolated hives. Here is my respond to that issue. Made a modular design that has a double wall with cavity. Plus an internal air ventilation with a bee highway maybe!.

[@crazypeoplearoundtheworld304]

That's just stupid

[@Nisotovski]

Thanks for sharing 👊

[@jerrydegroot1573]

Enjoy your videos, what editing program do you use?

[@kamonreynolds]

On this video we just used laurels phone no video app. We have tried a few and they are not worth the money so far

[@hughyhughes8058]

First comment! Great video mate

[@hughyhughes8058]

You are a great beekeeper too by the way

[@christina5588]

Poor Laurel....

[@Priroda1234.Belarisi.]

А па поведению пчела пугливая ?

[@marlonbellamy1854]

how come they dont fall out when you turn them upside down

[@kamonreynolds]

Hey Marlon the royal jelly creates a good deal of surface tension. If you bump/shake the frame to hard they can dislodge so care is needed.

[@larrytornetta9764]

How do you know how old the larvae are?

[@kamonreynolds]

pretty much by how they look. If you can find a patch of eggs and larvae hatching out next to them that typically is under 24 hours old.

[@BESHYSBEES]

There is many suppliers of the Chinese graft tools a quality one is a bit hard to find, I buy them by the hundred for cheap and 1 in 3 is crap, just gotta go through the pack and pick out the best, bending the tips a little before you start helps scoop the larvae out and some times I reshape the thin tip with nail clippers

[@ImkereiWetzel]

Hey Kamon, I have to try out the chinese grafting tool - but here in Germany most of my collegues and me like the swiss grafting tool most... maybe you wanna try that out in the future?

[@kamonreynolds]

Yes I would love too. Do you have a link to a type you like?

[@ImkereiWetzel]

@@kamonreynolds Here is a detailed view - www.ohib.de/contents/media/i420102-schweizer-umlarvnadel-premium2.jpg

[@ImkereiWetzel]

Here is a (german) shop: bienenzuchtbedarf-geller.de/shop/koeniginnenzucht/umlarven-und-zuchtsysteme/1217-original-schweizer-umlarvloeffel-wahlweise-fuer-rechts-bzw.-links-swiss-made-auch-modell-meika-ge.html They exist for left and right hand usage

[@toddmanuel1975]

Have you ever inserted a graft bar into an existing colony (double deep) that was queenless because after a split the virgin didn’t make it back? I have other queens that i could insert but wanted to see what would happen and if they would make good cells.

[@gwtill]

I am guessing that you have to put Royal jelly in the cup to lay the eggs on. If so where do you get the Royal jelly. I see a kit on Amazon that includes Royal jelly but I have no idea if it is any good. I am just getting started in beekeeping and would like to try raising a few queens. If I get any swarm cells I will try getting a queen from them first.

[@medienmond]

Just use a larger Lens for your camera. 80mm works Well for this Format, without getting too Close.

[@robsonrobson4008]

Not bad if we have a lot of time. I use the nicot frame and sometimes jenter, jenter seems to be better, more larvae are accepted Greetings from Poland. What is your best way to varroa?

[@kevindeichmann6755]

Sanding is key. Makes it so much easier compared to not sanding. Especially if you're grafting from a naturally drawn frame. You won't poke through the comb as often. Great videos!

[@gpete1981]

Wish we lived closer to each other so we could talk bees in person. Great reasonable information on bees! DOUG

[@kevinjackson1840]

very informative video. will try queen grafting.

[@MegaDavyk]

The man who invented the Chinese grafting toll deserves to be remembered, I tried to find out his name but had no luck.

[@shawn8163]

Tried Nicot system first time last week only had 2 out of 10 take any suggestions to get a better turn out ?

[@Dstick1Spearfishing]

Thanks Kamon, another great video. There is a couple of channels that show you how to feather the Chinese grafting tool to make it even better. I can post a link if you want. But it seems if you prepare them they can do a lot of work. For those of us just starting out, are you priming the plastic cells from royal jelly and are you loading it from queen cells you have opened up? .Where does a bee keeper get royal jelly from for grafting? Thanks for your help.

[@joel5921]

Can you answer? This has been my big question?

[@Rick2367]

Do you have a new camera? That close up at the beginning in 1080p is so clear, I could see the pores in your skin and almost count whiskers!! Great job as always!!

[@kamonreynolds]

Laurel's phone in certain lighting does very well. Today was a good day!

[@charlesoneill466]

Great video. Thanks

[@Tonnsfabrication]

Not all of the ten tools will be straight enough to graft with properly so you have to look down the length of it and be sure the plunger is not warped. Also helps to take a good one apart and sand the plastic tip to a feathered end. I learned this from Joe May and he's right, it does make a difference.

[@mattpeneguy7812]

Yep, Joe May has some good info on these Chinese grafting tools. He pulls them completely apart to pull the tongue (I don't know what you call the part that picks the larvae up) out. I just pull it off and sand it and stick it back in. I wish he'd have explained why he completely disassembles the tool...I'm not sure it's necessary. Also, he mentions to buy them from ebay where you can get them for less than 30 cents each. I went ahead and ordered 40 for near $11 today for next year. It's much easier to toss a bad one if you've got plenty of spares.

[@jimmieburleigh9549]

Might want to take this off air for now with everything going on with China.