The whole assembly is covered with a couple of hessian sacks. In only a few hours the bees will roar their distress. After the desired time, the grafts (see March, page 19) are inserted. The positioning of the queen cups in the cell raiser is important. I advise beginners not to put too many grafts together in a single frame. I find the optimum position for the queen cups is in the middle of the frame (top to bottom). I attach the grafting bars onto half-sized wooden dummy frames. The dummy with the grafts on is thinner than a normal frame and sits between full-sized frames, forcing the bees to crowd into the space where the cells have been placed (see photo on page 15).
Less is More
The fewer the number of cells given, the greater the attention they get. Giving the bees too many cells can result in inferior queens. This is an instance where small-scale beekeepers rearing queens for themselves have an advantage. Generally I do not allow my bees to complete more than 20 queen cells at a time, even in a well stocked swarm box.
Transferring the Grafts
Getting the grafts into the swarm box without losing too many bees can be an ‘enlivening’ experience. One method I use is to move the swarm box carefully onto a hard level surface in the open. The grafting bar secured to the half dummy frame is in an adjacent travelling box covered with a warm, damp towel. Using a minimum of smoke, the bees are smoked through the swarm box lid, which is unfastened. Now comes the performance. It is not a bad idea
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to rehearse this without any bees first, especially if there are several people involved. The swarm box is lifted up
from the ground and banged down to dislodge the bees to the floor. Immediately the lid is removed and the dummy with the grafts is inserted into the gap between frames in the centre of the box. The lid is then quickly replaced and fastened. I find that the above procedure works fine for me and most students after some practice.
Resist the Urge The swarm box is now
returned to the place from whence it came, the bees shut in and fed for the next two days. It can then be placed in the open and the entrance opened in the evening.
Resist the urge to see how many queen cells have been started for at least another two days. In my weekend queen rearing workshops, I often open up for a look after 24 hours. This usually means that some cells which have been started are subsequently rejected. At this stage, most professional queen rearers transfer the queen cells which have been started to other colonies to finish them. With a small-scale operation, it is perfectly feasible to let the bees in the swarm box look after the cells until they are ready to be transferred to the queen mating units. We will discuss this next month. ♠
References
1 Wedmore, EB (1989). A Manual of Beekeeping, Table VI. 3rd ed, Bee Books New and Old.
2 Mangum, WA (1996). Naturally Built Queen Cells: An Introduction to their Biology and Use in Honey Bee Management. American Bee Journal, 3, 136(9), 627.
3 Butler, CG (1976).The World of the Honeybee, Chapter 7. 3rd ed, New Naturalist Series No 29,
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