First graft peculiarities

[mbc]

Checked my first graft yesterday, five days after grafting and the day I recombine the queenless cell starting element of a double brood hive with the queenright bit(after five days the cells are sealed).
What surprised me was a number of wild cells started on the brood in the queenless box, this had been above a qx for nine days prior to the graft so shouldn't have had larvae of an age to make emergency cells by the book, but cells there were and quite a few too ~6.
I put it down to late hatching eggs.

 

[Michael Palmer]

Did you check the combs above the excluder...on grafting day...for emergency cells? Many colonies will start cells when brood is separated from the queen by an excluder.

 

[mbc]

Did you check the combs above the excluder...on grafting day...for emergency cells? Many colonies will start cells when brood is separated from the queen by an excluder.

There was nothing obvious from a cursory inspection but it's quite possible I missed the beginnings of them, still after nine days any emergency cells should be almost ready for capping even if drawn from extremely fresh eggs layed just before the qx went on.

 

[Poly Hive]

Why the five day wait?

I check the next day for acceptance so I can graft again into the same unit to save time.


PH

 

[mbc]

I wanted to put them back together once the cells were sealed as most of the nurse bees from the nest had been shaken into the starter too so they needed help asap, nothing to be gained by looking earlier and I only send one round of cells through at a time, I can only give up a morning each week to putting cells out and/or catching queens.

 

[Eyeman]

Did you move a frame of 'pollen' up to the Q- top box when you put your grafts in? There may have been some eggs/larvae on that pollen frame for them to make emergency QC's. Otherwise you'll get some patches of eggs which because they are isolated will delay hatching resulting in the late appearance of QC's.