Synopsis : Some larvae are nutritionally deprived and may produce sub-optimal queens. Grafting may miss the ‘best’ larvae the colony would select for rearing as emergency queens. Introduction A fortnight ago I discussed the preference colonies show for heavy eggs – or more accurately for larvae reared from heavy eggs – when producing queens under […]
Synopsis : Queenless colonies prefer to rear new queens from heavy eggs. How was this determined and what are the implications for our queen rearing? Introduction Arguably the most important decision a colony will ever make is the selection of the eggs or larvae from which a new queen is raised. Other decisions are obviously […]
Synopsis : Queen rearing is enjoyable and educational. Don’t let the experts put you off. You don’t need to graft day-old larvae to rear queens. Introduction A long time ago I bought, read and re-read Ted Hooper’s excellent book Guide to Bees and Honey. Every time I read it I’d find something I’d missed the […]