The truth about grafting larvae

This for me is why I get great results when grafting honey bee larvae in to cell cups. It’s all in the jelly, it’s all in the quality of your cell builder! So hopelessly queenless, so desperate to find a larvae to save them!

[@remodelassets6523]

Yes you are absolutely correct in that the cell builder MUST be set up with lots of nurse bees. Well done Richard!

[@user-fo1tx5bk7b]

Thank you. Finally I know the reason for the failure of queen rearing

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

It’s all in the jelly

[@richardnoel3141]

Oh yes!

[@nagendraghimire7851]

Pure heart! Keep sharing Richard. A lot of people will benefit. Thank you.

[@richardnoel3141]

very kind words, thank you.

[@CastleHives]

Going to try my hand with grafting this year. Thanks for the info.

[@russellkoopman3004]

Very good teaching moments there. Thanks Richard.

[@richardnoel3141]

thank you Russell, if it helps someone i am happy!

[@kimberesford2444]

You are absolutely spot on Richard. As per your advice, my cell builder was bursting with bees and nutrition when I added thirty cells last Thursday and 24 hrs later I have 28 taken. Nine cells transferred to a finisher and the cell builder recombined with the qeenrite box to finish the remaining nineteen cells. I wish I had gotten sufficient resources to have created two more finishers and then kept the cell builder for a second run as it was so strong and almost begging for it. Next year for sure I will build on this experience and run a more structured queen rearing program. Really enjoying this. Many thanks from sunny Derbyshire 🇬🇧🐝

[@richardnoel3141]

Hi Kim, really thrilled it worked for you. ha, the old "if only i had more nucs one" next year then lol.

[@konradrueb1567]

Its amazing to see the nurse bees dive towards the grafts. They can smell larva.Ive pulled the frame after i put it in for an hour and my grafts will be flooded with jelly.Its all in the jelly.🐝safe and keep your smoker lit!!! Konrad

[@richardnoel3141]

I just love that moment! nature is pretty amazing, we just set it up for them!

[@rickwarner516]

Thanks Richard blessings to you and your family 👍🏼🐝❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@richardnoel3141]

Same to you Rick! thank you!

[@pottyplotter2462]

Just brought myself a nicot kit for next year, will revisit your queen rearing vids to help me through the process. Thank you for your great informative videos.🐝🐝

[@richardnoel3141]

thanks, PM me about Nicot kit. there is a couple of things to know!

[@pottyplotter2462]

@@richardnoel3141 thanks, will do. Just realized I've bought a Chinese knock off! Have checked it for any warped parts, seems ok, we shall see. Regards Rikki 🐝🐝🐝🐝👍

[@577bluegrass]

Thank you!

[@amrithoneyandbeefarming9416]

Good knowledge

[@OklahomaBeekeeper]

Thanks for your information and your testing. I have always wondered if it was that important to get the cups polished or not.

[@richardnoel3141]

well, that's just my findings, there is others out there who swear putting in the cups the day before helps acceptance. thanks anyway!

[@andrewstead7519]

No hornets for you Richard. They’ve all blown over to jersey. Thanks on those north easterlies earlier this year.

[@sentimentalbloke7586]

jeez mate thanks for the post, was bored to pieces playing mahjong, your always great to watch

[@richardnoel3141]

thank you!

[@TheSoilandGreen]

1:42 never heard that before. About taking out the larvae and eggs. Thanks mang

[@johnmorgan9435]

Yeh 'Demon' Richard. Guess as beekeepers most of us try to cut out as many of the variable factors in grafting and acceptance, so all the little 'rituals' are followed. Thanks for bring the focus back on the brooder colony.👍

[@richardnoel3141]

thanks John! yes its the attention to detail it really does help in many ways.

[@MegaDavyk]

I knew that, but its something you can't hear too many times, thanks.

[@route-249]

Thanks Richard, I was wondering ... how close is your autumn, I guess a better question is, how late in the year do you graft? I have about 6 weeks left before it will start getting cooler...

[@richardnoel3141]

Hi Mark, good question. I like to finish my grafting by the first week of August, but by then you need really good strong made nucs to give the bees time to get built up before the winter. remember every area is different. Thank you for your input!

[@BESHYSBEES]

Ive only put the bars in the day before once, not anymore I use the cups straight out the box too makes no difference to me still getting between 80% & 90% acceptance, my first grafts are a practice run I remove the grafts after 2 days and take the jelly from the cups and put it in the freezer, I dilute the jelly with distilled water and use it as a primer for the cells this is just to keep the larvae from drying out and makes it easier for me to float the larvae off my German metal tool, the bees will remove my primer and replace it with their jelly

[@richardnoel3141]

yes interesting, I know a lot of professional french breeders bin out the first grafts but I think they are ok! Great input, thank you!

[@joer5627]

Appreciate your comments Richard. The key comment was “do what works for you”. An interesting process you use. It obviously works for you. Congrats from Atlanta

[@richardnoel3141]

yes thanks, glad you picked up on this, its so important to look and try lots of methods until you find one that works for you! best wishes!

[@marioforieri8529]

Good job. Can you please explain hopelessly queen less?? Thanks again!!

[@Th3_Gael]

Morning, caught the notification on the way out the door. Guess your busy too uploading before 6 am

[@richardnoel3141]

Living Orwellian Dreams been up since 5 today, moving hives this morning’ your right though!🧐👍😊

[@Th3_Gael]

@@richardnoel3141 same, interesting to hear you've built cells that have been posted to you. Proves the methods worth the work and worth learning. Hope I have your successes one day, gotta go out do the work now, have a good one 🤘

[@badassbees3680]

Only thing putting em in to polish does is get wax all over your cups ruining them anyhow.. good info as Always Richard

[@richardnoel3141]

you share my sentiment exactly! thanks for your comments as always.

[@badassbees3680]

@@richardnoel3141 for Sure Richard, keep em coming!💯

[@aleksandarj472]

Hi! Is the time of day important when the larvae are grafted? Should it always be in the evening, late in the day or over night, when all the bees are in the hive?

[@danschneider9219]

Yup I put the cups on the bar just before I graft, works good for me.

[@richardnoel3141]

great to hear, you've obviously cracked your builder! 👍💯💥🐝

[@AntennaBee]

Go for it Richard it's all in the jelly 😁

[@richardnoel3141]

Thank you, Colin, looking forward to you rearing lots of queens next season. With all the help and tuition you've had, you should be able to raise a few now!! the best student ever!😂😂😂

[@noahriding5780]

Will it still work if you only use the base yellow part as the cup instead of the tiny brown cups that insert into those?

[@anthonyhodson8924]

Hi great video but when the first queen emerges why doesn’t she kill all the others ? Thanks Tony

[@richardnoel3141]

She would do but they are all caged.

[@anthonyhodson8924]

@@richardnoel3141 how are they caged ?? Only my 2nd yr.

[@richardnoel3141]

@@anthonyhodson8924 if you look at the other videos you will see. All in Nicot Cages

[@downunderfulla6001]

👌👍

[@3Beehivesto300]

How many queens you make in a year?

[@richardnoel3141]

About 1,000 grafts , but the end end results from grafts to mated queen laying everyone, not just me looses a certain percentage along the way. My collègue also uses a lot of queens I make for him too, so that’s why I am always grafting!

[@campdavidsonfunctionaltrai8583]

what do you mean "it's all in the jelly" I get it's all in the builder but you said jelly?

[@Th3_Gael]

The queen's are only as good as the quality of the royal jelly. The royal jelly is only as good as the nurses making it and what they have to make it with. You try to get all of the above the best you can to get the best queen specimens that you can

[@campdavidsonfunctionaltrai8583]

Ok I get what you mean. I thought he was priming the cells.

[@richardnoel3141]

With a good builder, you have good amounts of royal Jelly instantly flooded I to any larvae that need it. what I am referring to is its a process that leads to excellence if you get it right! "Living Orwellian Dreams" is correct too, thank for your input! I never prime my cells. there is really no need. some swear by it, but for me, it's just get them into the builder asap!

[@ohshitimdoxed8030]

Just spotted this . What a way to catch a swarm 🙂 kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZLUgpKFetqlY9k Do you think its royal jelly he puts on the board ?

[@richardnoel3141]

ha love it, I've considered similar things in my own apiaries myself. they do work, i think its swarm attractant. Lemongrass oil etc in a paste or similar. potentially its a really cool idea. but he stillhad to be there to hoist it up at the right time!

[@user-up1zr5xx7f]

Hi😅😅😅😅😅

[@mikeries8549]

Gee. I've gotten the idea that grafted queens are somehow superior to ones raised from swarm cells. How? You just said, "if you get them desperate enough they'll use poorly kept larvae or just whatever... " That sure don't sound superior to me.

[@richardnoel3141]

Hi Mike, yes swarm cells are probably still superior to the ones you can make but they don't contain the genetics you want or need and they come usually when your not expecting them and often can do little with them when you find them. I refer to the fact than any larvae the correct age will make an excellent cell if it's placed in the right environment. You have to create that environment and the cell bulder does that and more. it allows for a mistake that the beekeeper may make and floods those cells instantly the moment thee cells hit the builder. There are superior because they contain the genetics your want, and they are as good as swarm cells. Were mimicking the process but working with the bees, doing what they do and following their lead, at a time when they would be doing dothe same.