The Cell Builder "Explained"

I really love raising queens, so, Heres a video of how I make my queen cells in my cell building apiary in Brittany France.
I base my cell building on The Michael Palmer method of the 10 over 10 cell builder. Taking an already very strong colony of bees nearly at the point of swarming, and adding 10 Frames of brood, Harvested from other colonies, that are designated colonies for this purpose. Also known as "brood factories" these dedicated "Nucs" are essential in a path to being sustainable as possible. Raising all your queens and bees, from your own queens and bees.
Although this Method is nothing new, i wanted to show others how easy it is to have a go!
Plan your forthcoming years production to included, if resources permit, some queen rearing from your best stocks. If not, then work with a few other beekeepers . Mutual planning can result in a few small back yard beekeepers, pooling their combined resources and bingo, you raise some great Queens , made by yourself, in your own apiaries.
There are different aspects of this process that are slightly modified to suit my needs. I need a lot of queens after the spring and Summer flows, so for me, Personally, i dont reassemble the cell builder with its now adjacent original queen on day 5,and use it as a finisher, instead, i have run it 2 or 3 times, as a "hopelessly queen less" starter.
A more classic use of this cell builder would be to reassemble and reunite the hive with existing queen on day 5 or 6, when cells are sealed over. if you only need a few cells, say 30, this may be a better option for you. for me, i like to go in and remove started cells 12 to 24 hours after grafting and stick in another load. I am just highlighting, with this method, you have several options.
My other Strong Brood factories act as my finishers, so it all works really well for me like that!!!
By making the colony really strong and combing the Swarming instinct, with the Emergency response and suddenly making the colony hopelessly queen less (with no eggs or larvae available to make a new queen from under the emergency impulse) i then , add my grafts!
This Colony has a very High population of Nurse bees that have no choice but to use the cells i give them and also their so hopelessly queen less and so overwhelmingly populated and well fed, that that can do anything else but draw up beautiful Queen cells, under almost perfect conditions.
Thats what you want, maximum stimulus, with maximum resources available to the bees at a time when the bees would naturally be doing the same. All I am doing here is enhancing normal queen rearing process that carries on in a normal colony during the normal beekeeping season.
Work with your bees, do what the bees do, when they do it, only give them the best!!!
Hope you enjoy the video. Have fun rearing your queens. You can do it, just carefully planning and organisation.
01/03/2018 : Questions and answers video on this video available here • The Cell Builder expla...
Enjoy, go make some great cells!!!

[@leandrozuniga5634]

Nice job! 👌

[@nahitaltaner6628]

kzbin.info/aero/PLw0L8F9d6iXdtWgOxu7jyDElP3xJ7HG9z

[@bobhayter8526]

Only watching this now, 6 years after you filmed it! I really like your videos as you come across as completely down to earth and you don't gild the Lilly, you simply appear to tell us how it is! Carry on the great work

[@jtiem]

Wow, this was the video I needed to understand the Michael Palmer method. I knew the information was solid but seeing it done makes all the difference. Cheers!

[@sgcarr01]

Loved the step by step instructions! Going to give it a try in the spring!

[@pbrezny]

Well done Richard, Thanks for sharing.

[@PhillipHall01]

This is an outstanding video in every way!! Thank you for sharing!!

[@thuffman44]

Extremely helpful explanation, thank you

[@willyman9036]

I agree, this is the best video on queen rearing I've seen. You cleared up a lot of my confusion from watching other videos on this topic. Thank you for this video.

[@ganeshbhat5877]

Great source of information! Thank you for sharing.

[@janles9005]

Thank you for the video. You made a great presentation! Wish you all the best.

[@jonathanpearson2984]

Such a great video. Thank you for the time and effort you have put into making this highly educational and inspiring tutorial. Hope all is well in Northern France.

[@terrynitro5330]

One of the best queen rearing videos I've seen to date. Nice thorough procedure. Thank you!

[@beemanrunning977]

Awesome tutorial! Very encouraging too. Thanks for the insight.

[@thesloppyscientist4428]

I have grown to really enjoy your videos. Your knowledge and enthusiasm is second to none.

[@richardnoel3141]

I appreciate that! thanks, but i just do things differently. there is other equally good videos out there!

[@honeysuckle2907]

Thank you Richard for an excellent video your excitement shows through!!! I love all of Michael Palmer videos and am excited that he will be here in North Carolina next month.

[@OklahomaBeekeeper]

Great information and well presented. Thanks

[@stevesoutdoorworld4340]

Love your system.Thanks so much for sharing.

[@randydobias4539]

Richard thanks for the second follow up Q and A this answered my question and thanks for explaining this process so well. I am so excited about spring and thanks to you I know I will be ready to grow with lots of new queens

[@simplifygardening]

Well explained i love watching mike palmer, i will be trying to raise my own for the first time this year as last year i expanded from 2 hives to 20

[@yalilevanon9209]

you are a legend brother... This video is amazing and looks that you putted a lot of thought and heart into it. Im not into the bees bizz but I can surelly tell you that you changed my thought about it and I love it! Thank you again! Much Love!

[@martinklawinski2933]

Wow! You are not only a beekeeper but a great videoproducer.

[@queeninsemination5129]

Very well explained, great video!

[@natserog]

great video! learning so much from you and Michael Palmer. A lot to grasp

[@willjones1508]

I have watched many video's on queen bee production, this one tops them all. Well organized and just enough information. You have given me confidence in going forward in my own program, knowing these simple take a way's. Thank You! -Willj-

[@charlieandpattisplace]

This is absolutely the best video I've seen. I have watched Mike P and his videos and this one nailed it. I just started raising our own queens this season 017. Already for next year now and will do my best, to leave the queen rearing up to the "professionals. Thank you Richard for taking the time to make this video.

[@flatwoodsbeefarm1015]

Great video! Your explanation​ of the process was very easy to understand. This video will be a great reference to help me grow my operation. Thank you for sharing.

[@richardnoel3141]

Flatwoods Bee Farm thank you. Good luck with this season ! 👍🐝🐝🐝

[@richardrhodes6037]

This is by far the very best video I’ve seen on setting up a cell starter. I heard Mike Palmer at the Texas Beekeepers Assn annual meeting a couple of years ago-excellent. Wish I could hear one of your presentations in person as well. Thanks again for the great & informative video.

[@apiniventures2820]

Your passion clearly comes through starting at 1:40 and carries through the entire video. Well done! I learned alot in this 27 minutes. Thanks!

[@Simon.Forrester]

I’ve watched your videos countless times Richard and share your admiration for Michael Palmer, top beekeeper, I’ll be trying this method this season for the first time

[@SlauterPFK]

Great video Richard!

[@mattnoble1714]

Very good video, lots of good information, thanks..

[@noahriding5780]

Like your enthusiasm. Keep it up! Also like your willingness to encourage others.

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

Great job, Richard. I will be doing something very similar next year, so thanks for the tips!

[@MsILISANU]

Whatta energy! Thank you for the detailed explanation!

[@bigbrickwall]

He is like the Gordan Ramsay of beekeeping

[@lintonmacnamara1469]

Wonderful video, so well shot and explained ....thanks for posting. An ancient Aussie

[@jeffreyrumpf6841]

Great. Video! Thank you for the hard work!

[@CastleHives]

Thank you for this. I’m looking into Queen rearing for 2021. The Cell Builder is one key piece.

[@Batman3231852051]

This has helped me so much thank you. This tape saved me so much money, it is simple enough for anyone to understand. Please put out one on treatment.

[@coreymatheson4132]

Richard, I can't say thank you enough for the awesome video, the best I've seen! Clearly, you are passionate about bees and beekeeping. You did a great job explaining "what" you are doing and the "why". I'm a second-year beekeeper with eleven hives. Next year I'd like to get my hive count up to around twenty five and start selling nucs and bred queens. Thanks again!

[@tomislavivanovic7661]

Well done Richard good video thank you

[@marksmith9944]

Great video. Much better explanation through hands-on video of Michaeal Palmer method than just the Michael lecture itself. Thanks for pulling this off so excellent!

[@michaelryerson1315]

Absolutely the best video on queen rearing on the internet, bar none. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and zeal. Absolutely infectious.

[@bigbrickwall]

Those compelte bars full of queen cells look beautifu, don't they?

[@joer5627]

Thank you Sir. Second year beekeeper here from Atlanta. Queen rearing is my next step. A sustainable apiary without buying Queens is my goal. Appreciate your information.

[@jonathanbrooks1832]

Fantastic video

[@jonathanwalker6521]

really like your videos and the info on the drone production towards the end of this one ... a lot of videos leave that out, very informative thank you for taking the time,

[@richardnoel3141]

jonathan walker thanks for your kind comments!🐝🤓👍😎

[@stephenhey8805]

Brilliant! Really informative, clear and most useful video, thanks!

[@richardnoel3141]

Thanks, hope it helps you. 🙌😎🐝

[@toddbeckpr]

Well produced and explained. This process can seem complicated when trying it the first time. I've seen Michael speak and you further simplified the explanation.

[@geminiajaz]

Very good and informative video 👍

[@wignot]

Outstanding! Master beekeeping!

[@richardnoel3141]

thank you!

[@konradrueb1567]

Awesome video!!!

[@stevesbees]

Wow I loved the video, I am a bee keeper from Idaho USA and want to do some grafting and raising bees this Spring . I had questions on setting up a cell starter and I loved your method. Very helpful Richard, Thank You!

[@susangranger5382]

Richard, that was absolutely fascinating. Thank u sooo much for sharing! Made me think that maybe this is something I could do and actually be able to retire someday!!! 😁

[@Ionut.Nedelcu]

Hello, Sir, you made my day. best video ever. Thanks a lot for this material! Big Love from Romania.

[@richardnoel3141]

You are very welcome. wishing you a great season in 2021 with lots of big juicy queen cells!

[@DiazGrowsFood]

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO MAKE THIS VIDEO. You sir are a natural for explaining things. I can't wait to get started. Blessings your way my friend

[@richardnoel3141]

Jaime Diaz thanks for your kind words!! Good luck!

[@djastram]

I was in France last summer. We didn't go to Brittany, but we did have some Calvados from Brittany. Fantastic video. I have met MP and also used his methods, slightly modified to use Nicot cage, due to my poor vision. Thanks for sharing.

[@terrim.602]

I have so very many questions, but for now, I just want to thank you for your excitement! It's so very contagious!!!

[@richardnoel3141]

thanks you. the cell builder explained, questions and answer, has a lot of the questions you are likely to ask.

[@ianwilkinson4196]

Brilliant - thanks for sharing this video - Preparing for 2019 now ....

[@zecolmeiadaresenha]

Edevaldo apicultor ✌️✌️👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@bradleykennedy3594]

Should have prepared for 2020

[@joelsantos8788]

Very good video thank you for sharing

[@scottpierson7495]

Richard ok here I go going to give it a try. I’ve just been packing them in a 10 frame box and doing it all in one but like the excluder idea. Put all the brood above excluder. That will prevent them from drawing cells. In 5 days I will flip the queen rite Box put her above double screened board. Above the builder keep her warm while her colony builds cells. Then I can put her box back after done building. We will see. Hope your well Richardson California is warming up. Love your shed by the way. Great work Richard. Read my message from 2 years ago lol, come a long way since then.

[@keithross8611]

Just found your channel richard. Bloody great video, very informative mate. Thank you 👍

[@charlesthomas5737]

This is absolutely the best video I've seen, finally someone that has explained Mike Palmer method in great detail. Please make a video on how you build your finisher hives. Also a video on how to graft if its possible.

[@richardnoel3141]

Charles Thomas many thanks for your kind comments! I had it in mind to do a video on m’y finishers, but it won’t be until next spring now! Will see what I can do, but come spring you just have very little time until the fall! Regards.

[@backyard-beehives1738]

This was excellent! Thanks

[@mikealdridgeret.4427]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge with us. I'm planning on starting beekeeping in 2021 (Retiring in April 😁🐝so we will have the time) and am watching and reading as much as I can in preparation. Have to say the way this video was presented and structured is brilliantly informative and just what we need 👍🏻🐝😁. Thanks again

[@DirtRoadAutoRepair]

Excellent mate! Thank you!

[@olegtts]

wow what a beautiful frames of brood !!!

[@richardnoel3141]

thank you.

[@777atmyplacerjm4]

One last comment... I have not begun my own bed keeping yet, but this video is certainly encouraging. Thank you!

[@allenc2289]

Fantastic Video,Thank You

[@backyard-beehives1738]

The way you set up a cell builder, and crowd them into wanting to swarm and then giving them the intense need for a queen is the same way I set up my colonies for making excellent comb honey. You've got my mind busy thinking new things this spring for my beehives!

[@framcesmoore]

Backyard-beehives can u explain how you get your bees to make comb honey Thanks

[@incubatork]

Great video, i watched it 3 times already and will watch again no doubt.

[@muhammadmansoor1770]

Gave me homey bee boxs

[@steve-othehero6529]

Absolutely fascinating.

[@richardnoel3141]

thanks.

[@kathyhathaway8823]

Hello Richard I wave watched a lot of different video’s on queen building over an over and kind of for some reason did not totally understand it ( I guess being old has nothing to do with it) haha . After watching your video I think I have it now I guess I speak your language a little better haha . I will be trying it now as always thanks for your video’s and you taking the time to put out this information. It so great how all the bee keepers stick together and share info. Thanks from NC , USA

[@kennethhatmaker607]

I really like your video on cell builder explained thanks.

[@richardnoel3141]

thank you.

[@Bl4ckw0lf1]

Wow, very informative.

[@mhanneouiaymen8336]

This is probably the most satisfying beekeeping video I've ever watched

[@richardnoel3141]

thank you!😃

[@ASousaMakesIt]

Great video! I'll try o follow a similar method here in PT for my small bee yard (4 colonies), my plan is to get double next year. Thank you for sharing!

[@dlh987]

Thank you for sharing.

[@gijsbertberghoef4031]

And again I needed this information to do it the right way. Thank you! What an inspiration Bert Berghoef, beekeeper in the Netherlands

[@richardnoel3141]

Thanks for your kind words.

[@joed4463]

Very well done 😎

[@rockallred658]

Great video, Thanks!

[@decaturridgebees8761]

3rd time through this thing such great instruction

[@nelliechappell6193]

Great Video

[@jeanbees5919]

great video

[@apiary_iran]

Good explanation

[@northatlantic2723]

This is the best video on queen rearing I've seen so far! Thanks for taking the time to make it! I've watched a lot of Mike Palmer's presentations and this video shed more light on what he has been explaining. Getting my materials ready for next season now. What breed of bees do you have? They shake off the frames surprisingly easy. I have Italians and carnica, and neither let go of the comb that easily.

[@richardnoel3141]

Hi, thanks for your kind comments. ok we use a F1 Buckfast cross, but as i said in the video they can be a little feisty at the start but generally they arent too bad. dont forget your getting a colony to swarming point. and your adding thousands of nurse bees that cant even fly yet! so their not that great at hanging on to the frames. Also i shake them hard lol Hope you have a good season.

[@MerlinsMagic]

Great video. I'm allergic to bloody bees but i found this fascinating. Cheers from Melbourne Australia

[@amathonn]

From the quality of the video I assume you have done this for a living! Excellent guidance; you've given me confidence to give it a go.

[@honeysuckle2907]

Hello Richards, I just returned from a workshop with Michel Palmer as our guest speaker and mentioned how I enjoyed your video on cell builder "explained" He spoke highly of you so keep up the good work!!

[@richardnoel3141]

Honeysuckle thank you!

[@arnoldtabamogalua]

Nice.... Watching here in the Philippines

[@finsbury8919]

Brilliant video Richard, I am going to try this this year for my first go and Queen rearing.

[@richardnoel3141]

Thanks Fin. I am doing a full presentation for Cambridgshire beekeepers end of feb so if you want a better presentation stay tuned! I will post it to you. Thanks for your kind words!

[@finsbury8919]

@@richardnoel3141 I’d love that please mate! I spoke to our club president yesterday about asking if we could ask you to do a zoom presentation for us? It would obviously have to go through the rest of committee but I thought I’d ask anyway. Hope that’s ok with you as not sure if you’re offering this to other associations or not?

[@chrisiscool1744]

Passionate!!

[@nellynkaqt9467]

You are fun to listen to. I've watched tons of videos on beekeeping and most of the beekepers are droning on and on (No pun intended) about this and that and it is so boring you lose attention quite quickly. This is not your case, so thank you very much! :D

[@richardnoel3141]

thanks very much, glad you find it interesting. i like to keep it informative.😃

[@gaelenpalmer9941]

Well Done Richard

[@DJSouthwest162]

Thanks Richard 😎

[@VaderSpade]

Great video and a good solid method for raising quality queens. I never liked queenless cell builders because of the nurse bee issue when grafting cycle after cycle. This is a good solution. I have known queen breeders that keep two hives as one cell builder. One queenless and the other just for nurse bees, but when raising hundreds to thousands of queens this gets costly. We just went with queenrite builders and we did very well. 80-85% take consistently all season. I believe the main difference is the area we live in. Northern California is a great place to raise queens. We grafted 600 cells per day from February 15th to May 15th for over 30 years. Any other method would just take too much time and resources when operating on that big of a scale.

[@baddestbees5924]

VERY GOOD RICHARD!! AND YOUR RIGHT MICHAEL PALMER IS A BEEKEEPING GENIUS U CAN WATCH OTHERS FOR YEARS BUT NOT TRULY LEARN MUCH THEN LEARN FROM MICHAEL AND YOU TRULY BLESSED ONCE YOUR TAUGHT.YOUR VERY GOOD ALSO I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS,I AGREE WITH U AND I LEARN FROM U.NORMALLY IM CUSSING AT PEOPLE FOR SPREADING FALSE INFO ,NICE TO BE ON A CHANNEL AND LEARN. THATS WHY IM HERE ,THAT AN I ENJOY UR VIDEOS!

[@richardnoel3141]

Thank you for your kind comments!! best wished for the coming season.

[@baddestbees5924]

Richard Noel you as well my friend ,keep em coming !

[@matthewalexander9716]

Excellent!

[@richardnoel3141]

thank you!

[@fuanka1724]

Very interesting!

[@JCsBees]

Great video! You did an awesome job explaining things. I know what it takes to make a video like this. I imagine you have hours in just editing it all together. Thanks for all the work. Do you have a video on how you build your finishers? I am gonna try your method come spring time. Also how about them marking disc, aren't they just a blast to put on. I noticed they were a little cocked to the side, damn bees won't hold still. lol

[@richardnoel3141]

Hi Jason, thanks for your kind comments!!! Yes, lots of work as you well know! i knew someone would eventually mention that virgin with a badly fitted marking disc, lol. I dont mind! re the cell finishers, yes, thats why i use a 5 over 5 configuration with our Dadant frames, as their big enough to give bees a lot of surface are on each frame (and on each top and bottom box). All you do is make sure the queen is underneath or above, from wherever you put your cells to be finished. Logically below the excluder is best I find, as quick access to finishing cells is important. You do have to manage your finishers, giving the queen room by taking out out honey from the top as well as giving space for her to lay in the bottom, but its not difficult as you know where she is! They have to be strong too, but this isn't difficult to manage either, as you harvest brood from these ( brood factories), just taking enough to stop them swarming, but not enough so that they dwindle. Finishers are a really cool idea, not a new idea but with movable nuc boxes its really manageable. You get brood, bees and at the end of the year you split it in to two or three new nucs.

[@KevinsNorthernExposure]

Hey Jason, I watched your cell builder video also. Differs slightly from this with your vented closed up starter hive. Have you had a chance to try both methods now? Richard seems to go with the "more bees the better" route instead.

[@PhillipHall01]

Richard or Jason, do either of you have a video showing how to add the marking disc? Thanks Phillip Hall

[@RthruS]

very well done.

[@oswardmheni3610]

I like the video it is wonderful