Queen Rearing

the "BEST" way

Queen rearing cell bar going into a queen right cell finisher

The Queen is one of the most important members of the hive. High-quality queens are key to successful beekeeping. The quality of homegrown queens can surpass that of a queen breeder. You can spend time doing things others cannot afford to do.

For instance, research has shown - queens that are allowed to lay up to 21 days - will develop ovarioles better than queens that are banked sooner. The longer the wait before banking - the better, but those first 21 days are the most critical. You can let your queens develop better by letting them spend more time in a mating nuc before banking - or avoid banking your queens entirely.

The primary objectives of queen rearing is to raise the largest number of queens with the genetics chosen for the traits you want - from the least amount of resources.

For example, if we make a strong hive queenless. The queenless hive could have, during the 24 days of queenlessness, reared a full cycle of brood. A strong hive could easily raise several thousand new bees. We have lost the potential for about 20,000 or more workers by making this hive queenless, and the result is multiple queen cells, yet only one queen.

We could make a small nuc with only a couple thousand queenless bees rearing several queen cells. Those couple thousand bees would have only reared a few hundred workers in that time. But again - they raise several queen cells, with the result being only one queen.

By using the queen rearing methods laid out here, you make the highest quality queens with the least amount of resources.

This video is a must-have for the first time queen breeder, as well as the experienced queen breeder. The “Best” way to rear queens is a no nonsense approach to queen rearing. The methods shown here use a time tested gimmick free biological approach to queen rearing. Not only does it present you with fundamental queen rearing techniques, grafting, building cell starters and cell finishers, it does it in an easy to follow format, so you can start queen rearing today.

No matter what your reason is for rearing queens, this DVD will walk you through the steps from grafting to placing queen cells.

Subjects covered include: Early Queen Rearing, Biology of Queens, Biology of Drones, Bee Genetics, Queen Rearing Equipment, Queen Rearing Calendar, Selection of Breeder Queens and more. Learn how to Graft, Build Cell Starters and Cell Finishers.

Queen Rearing is one of the most rewarding and fascinating aspects of beekeeping. You will find yourself enchanted by the queens you rear. This DVD is a must-have for every bee club library.

Extras include a complete digital copy for your tablet or smart phone, and a Queen Rearing Calendar worksheet for your records.