Thefollowingdescriptionstartedoffasarequestfromabeekeeperwhowantedtoknowhow

IusetheMannLake/Nicotqueenrearingkit.IwrotethisinOctoberof2009.NextyearIll
includepicturesasIgoaboutraisingmorequeens.

YoucanraiseyourownqueensusingaQueenRearingKitsoldbyMannLakeBeekeeping
SupplyandBetterbee.SometimesitislistedunderthebrandednamesofNicotor
Cupularveandcostsaround$80orso.

Thebesttimetoraisequeencellsiswhenyouhaveamplepollenandnectarcomingintothe
hives.Thebesttimetobreed/matequeensiswhentheweatherhasmoderatedsuchasinMay
andJune.

ThereisalsoatheorythatsuggeststhatqueensraisedafterJune15(thechangeofdays)
willlaymoreeggsgoingintothewinterthananolderqueenraisedbeforethisdate.Ifthisis
true,thenahiveheadedbyayoungqueen,layingmoreeggsgoingintothefall,willbringa
greaterpopulationofyoungerbeesintothewinter.Itisthoughtyoungerbeessurvivethe
winterbetterthanolderbees.

Further,youngerqueensbroodupearlierinthespringandhivesheadedbyyoungerqueens
arelesspronetoswarm.Thereisagrowingtrendtowardannualrequeening,andagreater
trendforindividualstoraisetheirownqueensfromtheirownlocallyadaptedstock.The
Nicotsystemhelpsthoseofuswhoaretoostubbornandobstinatetolearnhowtograft
larvae.

Withthatsaid,Ihavefoundthatwhenyoustarttheprocessofraisingqueensitwillinvariably
rainforaweek.Icanalmostguaranteeitraintorrentsandyoullexperienceimpassably
muddyfieldsonceyoustartraisingqueens.Youneedrain?Startraisingqueens.

Theonlyhardpartofraisingqueensiscountingthedaysandkeepingonschedule.Usethe
attachedspreadsheet,fillinthedateyouwanttostart,thentryyourbesttokeeponschedule.
Oncethequeenrearingtrainleavesthestation,yourecommittedtostayingonthejourney.

Youmayalsowanttolookatyourpersonalcalendartoadjustyourqueenrearingactivitiesto
avoidconflictswithfamilyand/orbusinessobligations.Again,thehardestpartisstickingto
thescheduleanddealingwiththeunpredictableweatherandtheintrusionofourpersonal
commitments.

Thisqueenrearingideautilizestwodistincthives.First,youneedtoprepareahiveinyour
beeyardtobeaqueenless,broodlesscolony.Thisisyourcellbuildercolony.Thishive
needstobesetupinadvance.Thisisthehivethatwillraiseyourlarvaeintoqueencells.

Second,youneedaqueenrightcolonythatwillproducethelarvaethatwillbetransferredto
thecellbuildercolony.Theegglayingboxfromthequeenrearingkitisplacedinthishive.
Youcatchthequeen,confineherintheegglayingbox,andgiveherafewdaystolayeggs
intothecellcups.

Oncetheseeggshatchintolarvae,thecellcupsaretransferredfromthequeenrightcolonyto
thecellbuildercolony.Thecellcupsareremovedfromtheegglayingboxandtransferred
(withthelarvae)toatopbarframe.Placethetopbarframeintoyourcellbuildercolony.
Sincethecellbuildercolonyhasnobroodandnoqueen,itwillraisethelarvaeintoqueen
cells.

Theprocessisverysimple.Ifyoucancountthedaysonthecalendar,andifyoucanadhere
totheschedule,youcanraisequeens.Actually,thebeesraisethequeensforyou.Donttake
toomuchcreditforyourresults.

Day0:Gooutintoyourbeeyardorlookoveryournotesanddesignatewhichhiveyouwant
toraisenewqueensfrom(yourqueenrightcolony)andpickatleastone,preferablyfour,
strongcoloniestobecomeyourcellbuildercolonies.

Day1:Startpreparingthequeenless,broodlesscellbuildercolonybytakingahealthy,strong
hivemadeupoftwobroodboxes.Inreality,itwillbeagoodideatoprepareseveralhivesto
becellbuildercolonies.Imgoingtosuggestyoupreparefourdifferenthivesthatyouwill
manipulatetobecomequeenlessandbroodless.Theseareyourcellbuildercolonies.

Ineachofthesecolonies,sortthroughtheframesinbothbroodboxesandplacetheframesof
sealedbrood,olderbrood,alongwithacoupleofbroodframesthathaveamplestoresof
nectar/honeyandpolleninthebottombroodbox.Keepaneyeoutforyourqueen.Ifyou
markyourqueens,theyllbeeasiertofind.

Onceyoufindyourqueen,containhertemporarilyinaqueencatcher.

Puttheremainingframes(theframesofemptycombandthosewithfresheggs,etc.,)inthe
upperbroodbox.Dividethetwoboxeswithaqueenexcluderandreleasethequeenintothe
upperbox.

Thekeytoestablishingacellbuildercolonyistoisolatetheframesinthelowerbox,keeping
thequeenintheupperbox.Theresultwillpreventthequeenfromlayinganyneweggsin
thislowerbroodbox,andatthesametime,allowingtheexistinglarvaeinthislowerboxto
maturebeyondthepointwheretheycanbeturnedintoqueencells.

Afterninedays,alltheeggsinthislowerboxwillhavehatchedandallthelarvaepupated
intosealedbrood.Youhavecreatedabroodless(meaningnoopenbrood)box.My
suggestionistoconvertfourdifferenthivestobeyourcellbuildercolonies.

**SideNote**:Youmaybeabletogetbywithonecellbuilder

colony.Butsincethesecoloniesneedtobesetupinadvance,it

isagoodideatosetupfour.Ifitturnsoutyoudontneedthem,

youcansimplyremovethequeenexcluderandreturnthemto

theirnormalfunction.
Day3:Nowyouneedtochoosethecolonyfromwhichyouwanttoraisemorequeens,
hopefullycapturingthesamefavorablegeneticattributesandcharmingcharacteristicsofthe
existingqueen.Chooseaprosperous,healthycolonythatfitsyouridealsofhoney
productionandgentleness.Findthequeenandholdherinaqueencatcher.Bytheway,I
highlyrecommendmarkingqueenssotheyareeasytofind!Icannotstressthisenough.

Atthispoint,removeacoupleofframesfromthebroodareasoyoucaninserttheegglaying
boxintotheheartofthebroodchamber.Isuggestyouremovetwoframesfromtheoutside
andcreateavacancyinthemiddleofthehivebody,preferablybetweentwoframesofopen
brood.Itdoesnotmatterifthiscolonyisoneortwobroodboxeshigh.Igenerallyusethe
upperbroodboxbecauseitseasiertoaccess.

Preparetheegglayingboxbyattachingtheunittoaframe.Irecommendattachingittoa
mediumframe.Drillacoupleofholesinthetopandbottomoftheegglayingboxanduse
simplewoodorsheetmetalscrewstoattachittotheframe.Becausethebeesliketoaddburr
combtoopenspaces,Itrimacoupleofpiecesofplasticfoundationtofillinthevoidonthe
sidesofegglayingbox.

Removetheclearpanelsfromthefrontandbackoftheegglayingbox,andinsertthecell
cupsonthebackofthebox.Insertamplecellcupsasthequeeniskindofparticularandwill
notlayeggsineverycup.Thereisnopenaltyforextraeggswastedsofilltheunitwith
plentyofcellcups(theycanbereused).

Puttheclearbackpanelonthebackofthebox,leavingthefrontsideopenandexposed.
Inserttheegglayingboxintotheheartofthebroodnestandgiveitthreedaystowarmup,
allowingtheworkerstopolishthecellscupsandmakeitacceptabletothequeen.Youcan
nowreleasethequeenbackintothehive.Theegglayingboxisnotyetreadyforthequeen.

**Sidenote**:becauseyouhavetocomebackandrecapture

thisqueen,andhopefullyyouvemarkedhertomakehereasier

tofind,Iwillreleaseherintoasuperorabroodboxthathasa

queenexcluderonthetopandbottom,basicallysandwiching

thequeeninaprison.Thisway,Iknowwhichboxhasthe

queen.Ivespenttoomanyhourslookingforqueensthat

decidedtohideoutinthebottomofthehive.Sometimes,asthe

beesweregettingaggressivefrommylengthysearch,Ineeded

moresmoke.Thiscausedthebeestobecomerunny,thatis,

runningalloverthebox.Oncetheygetrunny,itsimpossibleto

findthequeen.SinceImonatimetable,findingthequeenon
 thatparticulardayisimportant.So,tomakeitsimple,Iwill

begintocloseupthehivebyplacingaqueenexcluderunder

oneofthehivebodies,releasethequeenintothisbox,thentop

itoffwithanotherqueenexcluder.ThiswayIknowEXACTLY

wherethatqueencanbefound.WhenIreturn,Imgoingto

wanttoplacethisqueenintotheegglayingbox.Again,itpays

tomarkyourqueens.Theyaremuch,mucheasiertofind.

UsingaqueenexcluderlimitsthenumberofframesIhaveto

removeandscaninmysearchforthequeen.

Ihighlysuggestthatwhenyoucloseupthehive(withtheegglayingboxinthebroodnest
andthequeenreleased),thatyousetthefrontcovertotheegglayingboxonthetopofthe
innercover(underyourtelescopingcover)soyoullknowexactlywhereitiswhenyou
return.

Bytheway,thebackpanelissolid,thefrontpanelisslotted.

Day6:Returntoyourqueenrighthiveandremovetheegglayingbox.Placetheclearfront
panelonit,recatchthequeenandplaceherintothefrontsectionoftheunitthroughthe
escapeportalandcloseitwiththeplug.Settheegglayingboxbackintothesameplace,into
theheartofthebroodchamber.

Thequeen(basedonmyexperience)willtakeacoupleofdaystomakeuphermindtostart
layingeggs.Sofortwodays,notmuchwillhappen.Itslikesheneedstogetusedtoher
captivitybeforeshellcooperatewithyou.Byday8,shewillusuallystartlayingeggs.Eggs
takethreeandahalfdaystohatch.

Day9:Gobacktoyourfirstcellbuildercolony.Itneedstobecutdown.

Nowthatitsbeenninedays,thebottomboxisfilledwithsealedbrood,emergingbees,
youngnursebeesandnoeggsorlarvae.Thisisnowbroodless.Becausethequeenhas
beencontainedintheupperbox,youknowthatthebottomboxisqueenless.Youshould
havenoeggs,andnoopenlarvae,noexceptions.Ifyoudo,somethingwentwrongandyou
needtomoveontothenextcellbuildercolony.

See?Thisiswhyyoupreparemorethanonecellbuildercolony.

However,itwillpayyoutoworkthroughthatbottomboxtoinsuretheydidnotbuildany
queencells.Ifqueencellsarepresent,theywillignoreyourqueenrearingeffortswithoutany
reservationwhatsoever.
Youneedtoprepareforthiscutdownstagebysettingupahivestandabouttenfeetaway
fromhiscolony.Wearegoingtocutdownthesecellbuilderhivessotheycanfocusall
theirresourcesonraisingqueencells.Bycuttingthemdown,weregoingtoconcentratethe
workerbeesintoacrowdedenvironmentthatwillimprovethechancesofmakingqueens.
Butfirst,weneedtoremovetheupperboxandthequeentoanewlocation.

Setupanewhivestandabouttenfeetawayinthesamebeeyard.Onthisnewhivestand(or
stands),setbottomboardsforeachcellbuilderhiveyouveprepared.Bringthesamenumber
ofinnercoversandoutercovers.

Startbyopeningoneofthecellbuilderhives,liftingofftheupperbroodboxwhileretaining
thequeenexcluder.Bykeepingthequeenexcluderinplaceonthebottomedgeofthisupper
broodbox,youwanttoinsurethequeenremainsintheupperbox.Ifyouareable,carrythis
upperboxtothenewhivestandandplaceitonthevacantbottomboard.

Returntothebottomboxontheoriginalhiveandlookthroughthebottomboxandinsure
therearenoaccidentalqueencellsmade.Makesuretherearenofresheggs(asignofa
supersededqueen).Theoretically,theirabilitytorelatetothequeenthroughthequeen
excluderpreventsanyqueencellsfrombeingmade,butstrangerthingshavehappened.

Ifyoufindqueencells,youshouldgoaheadandsquishthem.Youcouldsplitthehiveand
placeeachframethatcontainsaqueencellintoanewnucbox,butyouwillbelimitingthe
numberofqueensyoucouldraise.Itismoreadvantageoustosquishtheaccidentalqueen
cellsandhavethiscellbuilderhivemaketentimesasmanyqueencellsforyou.

Ifyoufindeggsorlarvae,thenyouhaveasecondqueenrunningaroundinthatbottombox.
Itsbettertogiveuponthiscellbuildercolonythantryanduseittoraisequeencells.Thisis
anotherreasontostartmultiplecellbuildercolonies.Sometimesyouhavemultiplequeens
andyoudontknowit.

Ifeverythinglooksgoodinthislowerbox,moveovertotheupperboxonthenewhive
stand.Myfirstobjectiveistofindthequeen(rememberwhyIwantedhermarked?)Isearch
forthemarkedqueeninthisboxandholdherinaqueencatcher.Removethequeenexcluder
fromtheundersideofthisbroodbox.Asyouremovethequeenexcluder,youmayfindthat
oldqueenontheexcludertryingtowigglethroughandescape.Containherinaqueen
catcher.

Withthequeensafelyconstrainedinmyqueencatcher,Iwilltakehalfoftheframesfromthis
box,andoneatatime,walkovertothelowerboxontheoriginalhivestandandshakethe
beesofftheframeinfrontofthecorrespondingcellbuildercolony(thecellbuilderfrom
whichthisupperboxwasremoved).Thiswilladdyoungernursebeestothebroodless,
queenlesshiveandwillmakeitstrongerandmoreefficienttoraisequeencells.Thishiveis
calledacutdownhive.

IrepeatthisprocessforallfourofthehivesIvepreparedtobemybroodless,queenlesscell
buildercolonies.Ithenreleasemyoldqueensintotheirrespectivecoloniesonthenewhive
standandplacetheinnerandoutercoveronthem.
Whatyouendupwithishighlypopulatedcellbuilderhiveswithlotsofyoungbees,noopen
broodandnoqueen.Theframeshaveincomingpollenandnectar(thankstothefieldbees
thatarereturningtothesehives).Younowhavetheenvironmentreadytoraisequeencells.

Nowyoualsohavefourweakened,queenrightcoloniesabouttenfeetawayonthenewhive
stand.Youhaveadepletedworkforce,anolderqueen,andlowexpectationsforeach
respectivecolony.Igenerallyletthesecoloniesbuildupfortherestofthesummerasasingle
broodboxwithnosupersadded.Byfall,theyhaveusuallyrecoveredsufficientstrengthfor
winter.Manywillhavesupersededtheirqueensbecauseyouvemesseduptheirequilibrium
inthecutdownprocess.

Day12:Openthequeenrightcolonyandremovetheframewiththeegglayingbox.Icarry
thisframeovertoashadyspot,outofthedirectsunlight.Openthebackcovertothebox
(andbesureandleavethefrontcoveronoryourqueenwillescape).Becausethecellcups
areslightlyopaque,youcanholdthefrontoftheboxtowardthelightandseethefreshly
hatchedlarvaeinsidethebottomofthecups.

Ifthelarvaisreallyfresh,youwillseeamilkydropofroyaljellythroughthebottomofthe
cellcup.Ifthereisnomilkyjelly,itmeanstheegghasnothatched,orthereisnoeggatall.
Apairofmagnifyingreadingglassesreallyhelps.

**SideNote**:Nowbearinmind,itsbeensixdayssinceyou

placedthequeeninthisegglayingbox.Itispossiblethatshe

laidsomeeggs,rightawayonthefirstday.Thishasnotbeen

myexperience,butanythingispossible.Youmayhavelarvae

thatisnow36to48hoursold.Theywillbelarge,easilyvisible

andshapedlikealargeC.Iwouldnotusetheselarvaeasitis

mypreferencetousetheyoungerlarvaethatare12to24hours

old.Theywilllooklikealittleblipinasmalldotofroyaljelly.

Again,onthisday,Iseldomfindtheolderlarvae.Ithasbeen

myexperiencethatmyqueenstakeacoupleofdaystosettle

downintheirnewconfinesbeforetheylayeggs.Obviously,your

resultsmaydiffer.

Atthispoint,Icanexpectsomeeggshatched,andamajorityofeggsalmostreadytohatch.I
removethecellcupswithfreshlarvae(aneedlenosepliersworksbesttowigglethecellcup
loosefromtheegglayingbox)andinsertthecellcupintotheyellow,cellcupholder.The
cellcupholderfitsintoabrown,cellcupfixture.Ipreviouslynailedtencellcupfixturestoa
topbarframe.Thistopbarframewithtencellcupsofyounglarvaeiswhereyourqueencells
aremade.Thistopbarframeisgoingtobeplacedinyourcellbuildercolony.

Bytheway,tencellcupfixturesisnomagicnumber.ItwaswhatfitwhenIsetupthetopbar
frame.

Onceyoutransferthecellcupswithyounglarvaefromtheegglayingboxtothetopbar
framewiththecellcupholders,replacethebacktotheegglayingboxandplacetheboxback
intothevacancywhereitwas.Youlldothistoallowtheothereggstimetohatchsoyoucan
transferthosecellcupswithnewlyhatchedlarvaetooneoftheotherqueenless,broodlesscell
buildercolonies.

Youcanleavethequeenintheboxorreleaseherintothehive,butyoullwanttoreturnthis
egglayingboxbacktothewarmthofthebroodnestfortheremainingeggstohatch.This
willgiveyoumorefreshlyhatched,younglarvaetomorrow.

However,ifyouthinkyouhaveallthelarvaeyouwant,thenyoucanreleasethequeenand
setthehivebacktothewayitwas.Releaseallthebeesfromtheegglayingboxandletthe
remainingeggsdryout.

Butontheotherhand,itdoesnothurttoraisemorequeencellsthanyoureallyneed.Ten
larvaeonatopbarframedoesnotnecessarilymeanyoullgettenqueencells.Itsokayto
raisemorethanyouthinkyouneed.

Thisisbasicallyagraftlessgraftingprocedure.Thebeautyoftheprocessisthatyoucan
seetheilluminatedlarvaefromthebacksideofthecellcupratherthansquintingdownadark
cellinthehoneycomb.Youdonttouchorpickupthelarvaeasthewholecellcupis
transferred.Youdonthavetoworryabouttryingtosettlethelarvaeintonewcellcups.The
beeshavedoneallyourworkforyou!

Onthisday,Iwillprobablygettwentylarvaeoldenoughtotransferthecellcupstothecell
cupholders.Ifthingsareworkingright,youmayhavethirty.Donottransfereggs.Eggsare
cannibalizedforsomereason.Onlytransferthosecellcupswithlarvae.Imakeuptwotop
barframes(20cellcups)tomovetothecellbuildercolony.

Youwillneedtoremovetwoframesfromthecellbuildercolonytomakeroomforthenew
framesofcellcupsandlarvae.Isimplybringanotherbroodboxwithme.Ipullouttwo
frames(fromaboutthe#3and#7spotsinthebox)andcreatevacanciesforthetopbarframes
withthecellcups.IplacethetwoframesIveremovedintheextrabroodboxIbrought
along.Iinsertthetopbarframesofcellcupsinthosevacancies,thensetthesparebroodbox
(withjustthetwoframes)ontopofthefullbroodbox.Movethetwoframesclosetogether
forwarmth.Thereisnoneedtoaddtheothereightcomplimentaryframestothisupperbox.
Inafewdays,youllbepullingoutthesealedqueencellstomovetoyourmatingnucs.

Youcoulddothissameprocedurewiththreetopbarframesofcellcupsifyouhadthatmany
cellcupsoffreshlarvae.Inthatcase,pullthreeframes,settingtheminthesparebroodbox,
andplaceyourtopbarframeswiththecellcupsinthe#3,#5and#7spots(basically
interspersingthecellcupsbetweenframesofbeesandpollen/nectar).
Closeupthecellbuilderandletthemraisesomenewqueensforyou.

Atthispointyouhaveonecellbuildercolonywithtwo,maybethreetopbarframesoffresh
larvae.Thecolonywilljumponthoseandstartturningthemintoqueencells.

Youalsohavethreecellbuildercoloniesawaitingfreshlarvae.

Day13,14,15:Oneachofthesedays,youcanreturntothequeenrighthiveandseeifmore
eggshavehatchedintheegglayingbox.Again,oneachday,lookforthemilkydotofroyal
jelly.Youwanttotransferfreshlyhatched,younglarvaeandnotanegg.Ifthelarvaisseen
asalargeCthenitsprobablytooold.Ifitlookslikealittlecommathenitisjustright.
Ifitisstillanegg,yourebetteroffwaitinguntilithatches.

Butheresaproblem:youalreadygavetwotopbarframesofcellcupstothefirstcellbuilder
colonyonday12.Youmightbeabletoaddmoreframesoffreshlyhatchedlarvaetothis
samecellbuildercolonyonday13,butthelikelihoodofthiscolonyturningtheseadditional
larvaeintoqueencellsisdiminished.Itseemstheywanttostartonthefirstbatchoflarvae
(fromday12)andtheyllignorethesecondbatch(fromday13).

Nowifyouonlywantedafewqueens,thendontworryaboutaddingmorelarvaetoeachof
theothercellbuildercolonies.Youmaybeabletodoitallwithonecellbuildercolony.
However,ifyouwantmorequeens,thenyoullneedseveralcellbuildercolonies.

Hereisthereasontomakeupmultiplecellbuilderunitsbackondayone.Ifyoumadeup
multiplecellbuildercolonies,youcanadd20or30morefreshlyhatchedlarvaetothesecond
cellbuildercolonyonday13.Youcanadd20or30morelarvaetothethirdcellbuilder
colonyonday14,and20or30morefreshlyhatchedlarvaetothefourthcellbuildercolony
onday15.Donotunderestimateyourneedforadditionalqueens.

Eachcellbuilderisqueenlessandbroodless,butonceyouintroduceacoupleoftopbar
framesofcellcupswithfreshlarvae,thecolonytendstoignoreanyadditionallarvaeaddedto
thecolonyinsubsequentdays.Theydontjustkeepmakingqueenswhenyoukeepadding
morelarvae.Theyputalltheirresourcesintothefirstbatchofcellcupsandignoreany
subsequentbatchesofcellcupswithlarvaeaddedinthefollowingdays.

**SideNote**:conceivably,onceallthequeencellsaresealed,

youcanmovethemtomatingnucs.Oncetheyareallmovedto

thematingnucs,youstillhaveacellbuildercolonyofyoung

beeswhichisstillbroodlessandqueenless.Youcould,

conceivably,catchadifferentqueenandplaceherinanegg

layingboxwithfreshcellcupsandstartthewholeprocessover.

Withthiscellbuildercolonyalreadyestablished,yourethat
 muchfurtheraheadintheprocess.Youcouldberaising

multiplegenerationsofqueensusingthesamequeenless,

broodlesscellbuildercolony.

Abigquestionishowmanyqueencellscanonecellbuilderhandle?Idontknowifthat
questionhasananswer.Itsafactorofgoodnutrition(nectarandpollen)forthedeveloping
larvaeandadequatenumbersofyoungbeestocareforthem.Iveraised40queensinonecell
buildercolonybefore.Itseemslikealottoaskofacolonybuttheyseemedtodojustfine.

Onday15,ifyouhavenotalreadydoneso,youcanreleasethequeenfromtheegglaying
box,allowinghertoroamfreeagain.Youcanremovetheegglayingboxandreassemblethis
colonyasitwasbefore.Iignoreanyleftoverlarvaeandeggsleftinthecellcupsandsimply
letthemdryoutanddie.Thesecellcupscanbereusedandthebeeswilltakecareofcleaning
themupforthenextqueen.

Withthequeenheldcaptiveintheegglayingbox,thisqueenrearingcolonymayhavestarted
somesupersedurecells,ortheymaystartsomeinthenextweek.Imprisoningthequeen
skewsherproductivity,orhowtheyperceiveherproductivity.

Day17:Ifeverythingisgoingwell,youwillhaveyourfirstqueencellssealedintothepupa
stage.Somecellsmaybewithinadayortwoofbeingsealed.Iopenthecellbuildercolony
andcounteverypupaecellonthetopbarframe,eventhosecellsstillunderconstruction.Not
alltencellcupswithfreshlarvaewillbeturnedintoqueencells.Somecellcupswillhave
beencleanedoutandthelarvaedisposedof.Usuallysixoreightqueencellsoneverytopbar
frameissatisfactory.Andthenagain,sometimestheyllraiseallten.Thisnumberwilltell
youhowmanymatingnucstoprepare.

Now,rememberhowItoldyouthatraisingqueencellsisalmostguaranteedtomakeitrain?
Dontprocrastinateandwaituntilthelastminutemakingupyournucs.Onacoupleof
occasions,IfounditrainedsohardonthelastdayIhadavailabletomakeupmynucsthatI
couldnotgettomyothercoloniestomakeupnucs,norcouldIpullthequeencellsoutofmy
cellbuildercolonies.Thefirstqueensemergedandkilledoffthequeensintheotherqueen
cells.Basically,mywholecropofqueencellswasruined.Iliketostartmynucsasearlyas
thefirstqueencellsaresealed,thengentlyremovethequeencellsfromthecellbuilder
colonyandplacethemwiththematingnuc.

AftercountingmyqueencellsandcalculatinghowmanymatingnucsIneed,Ireplacethetop
barframe,closeupthecellbuilderhiveandstartlookingtomyregularhivestodonatea
fewframesofbeesformymatingnucs.Itsnowtimetogetyourmatingnucsready.

Iusuallygothroughmyothercoloniesandborrowtwoorthreeframesofsealedbroodand
youngbees,settheminafiveframenucboxwithotherframesofdrawncomb.Ifyouonly
tooktwoorthreeframesofbees/broodfromanice,strongcolony,replacingthemwithnew
framesoffreshfoundation,Icanpracticallyguaranteeyouwillnothindertheirhoney
production.
Itworksbesttosetthesenucboxesupinadifferentyardatalocationmorethan2milesaway
sothefieldbeesdontflyback.Ivealsofoundithelpfultocloseofftheentrancetothe
matingnucfor24hours(usuallywithawirescreensothereisstillventilation).Holding
themcaptivefor24hours,thenmovingthemtoanewbeeyardthenextdaydoeswondersfor
enticingthemtoclaimthenucboxastheirnewhome.

Ifinditeasiesttosetupthematingnucsoneday,thenbringthetopbarframeofqueencells
tothenucthenextday.WhenIgatherupmyqueencellsfrommycellbuildercolony,Iopen
thecellbuildercolonyandputmytopbarframeinasuperthatcontainsthemetal,9frame
notchedframerests.Theseframerestskeepyourtopbarframessecureinthesuper.Isetthe
superonanupsidedownlid,andencloseitwithanotherlidtokeepthingswarmandfreeof
drafts.

Youwillalsonoteseveralbeesclingingtothequeencells.Somecellshaveadozenbees
clamoringaboutthem,othercellshavenone.Idontknowwhatthisportends.

Theyellowcellcupholderwiththesealedqueencellisremovedfromthebrowncellcup
fixtureandinsertedintothematingnuc,eitherwedgedbetweentwoframes,hungbetweenthe
topbarsoftwoframesordanglingfromtheholeoftheinnercover.

Iinsertthesealedqueencellsintothematingnucsandleavethemaloneforaboutaweek.
Youcanalsobreakupyourcellbuildercolonyintomatingnucs,evenleavingsomeofthe
framesinanucboxonthatsitewithaqueencell.

Inthedaysthatfollowyoucanreturntotheothercellbuildercoloniesandpulloutmore
sealedpupae.Somewherebetweenday24andday28,allthequeenswillhaveemerged.A
queentakesroughly5to7daystomature.Theygoontheirmatingflightanditsanother3to
5daysbeforetheylayeggs.Iusuallyfigurebyday42(sixweeksintothewholeprocess)that
Icaninspectmymatingnucsandlookforlarvaeandfresheggs.Ifthequeenemergedand
wassuccessfullymated,thiswillbetheearliesttimetoinspectyourcolonies.

Iusuallyletthesenucsbuildupintosinglesfortherestofthesummer.Illaddframesof
drawncombtoroundoutthenecessaryextraframesasItransferthebeesfromthematingnuc
toaten/nineframesinglebroodbox.Asweusuallyhaveanectardearthinthelatesummer,I
havenoproblembringingthemfeedandpollensubstitutepatties.

Additionally,youcangobacktoanyofyourexistingcolonies,killofftheoldqueenandadd
aqueencellstraightfromthecellbuildercolonyandskipthematingnuc.Asthisisdonein
themiddleofthesummer,thelikelihoodofdiminishingyourhoneycropisquitesmall.

Donotunderestimateyourneedforqueens.Itisbettertohavetoomany.Youcanthenjudge
thequeens,killoffthelesserqualityqueensandcombinethatcolonywithanotheronebefore
theendofsummer.Thiswillallowyoutoretainonlythebestqueens.Oryoucansellthose
extraqueensorgivethemawaytoyourbuddies.Youcanevenselloffyourextraqueencells.

ThisshortdescriptionishowIdoit.Gleanthegoodstuffandmakeyourownadjustments.I
hopethislittlechatwevehadhasbeenhelpful.Ihavenopretentionsthatthisistheonlyway
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GrantGillard
Jackson,MO