Grafting, trying again.

[rich]

Forth summer beekeeping so I thought it's about time I had another crack at grafting, (it must be all the talk on here about it) just did a graft of 10 cells, hope I have better luck than last time, 12 grafted none taken, .... then gave up
We've got LOADS of rape in full flight, fingers crossed I can get the grafts to take so I can bleed off some bees.
Rich

 

[marcros]

Forth summer beekeeping so I thought it's about time I had another crack at grafting, (it must be all the talk on here about it) just did a graft of 10 cells, hope I have better luck than last time, 12 grafted none taken, .... then gave up
We've got LOADS of rape in full flight, fingers crossed I can get the grafts to take so I can bleed off some bees.
Rich

stick with it- well worth the effort when you get some results.

 

[tkwinston4]

Grafting??

 

[Heather]

When you gently lift out a tiny larvae (using a grafting tool or very fine paintbrush) and place in prepared cells for queenless nuc of bees to pile in royal jelly to make lots of queens

 

[gandalfwhitewizard]

Rich,

Sorry to hear that you are having problems for your grafts to be accepted. Just wondered how you are grafting and how long are you leaving the cells in the colony to be prepared prior to grafting?

We have found that the optimum time is about 4 hours. We will run another one of our queen rearing days sometime in June and the proceeds of which will be given to Help for Heroes, maybe worth popping down to Kent for the day? #

Good luck with your grafts

 

[Poly Hive]

FWIW I never found having the cups in a receiving colony for prepping makes any odds to the acceptance rate at all.

I just grafted straight into the cups, and offered them to the queenless broodless nuc.

Don't give up what ever you do as practice here is essential. "The harder I work the luckier I get" applies here in spades.

PH

 

[tkwinston4]

When you gently lift out a tiny larvae (using a grafting tool or very fine paintbrush) and place in prepared cells for queenless nuc of bees to pile in royal jelly to make lots of queens

Excellent, thanks.

 

[tberni]

If you do not get better at Grafting - and quite a lot people don't, try using a jenter.

 

[Poly Hive]

and the problem with them, and everything has its issues is the queen can hoppity skip the plugs leaving you with.............. a grafting job..LOL

Grafting is easy it just takes practice and if you dump 50 larvae to get the perfect lift and place............so?

PH

 

[rich]

Thanks for you words of wisdom and encouragement.

Have no fear I'll keep at it now I'm getting myself better organized, and certainly found the Swiss grafting tool much easier to use than the Chinese one.
I haven't been able to check today to see if they have accepted any as we had to travel back to Yorkshire for a final farewell to a great aunt. It'll be fingers crossed time tomorrow morning.


Rich

 

[Poly Hive]

You will know with in 12 hours if they are accepted. white wax says yes, as does jelly. If not you can bet the bank the cup is empty.

Best wishes for your continued practice, as the buzz of the success is just awesome.

PH

 

[tberni]

You are indeed right that the queen will lay in every cell in the jenter system. Only today I checked and shed layed in every single cell. But its so nice knowing that the 50 selected cells to be queen celled is now down to the bees rather than being down to the bees and my shakey hands. And getting the not wanted cells out with a sable is very easy and stress free.

If your a purist and like the challenge then good luck - but if time and consistency is the essence then ....

 

[Poly Hive]

Ummm

I didn't say that at all and please do not attribute to me what I did not say.


I said that she can, and does, hopity skip every plug. Leaving grafting the only option.

PH

 

[tberni]

Sorry, didn't mean to upset you. I was actually saying that you are right, if thats what you were saying because the jenter system has about 500 cells - about 100 of which you place the plastic cells - and the queen did infact lay in every single cell. So apart from using the 50 I needed, I had to get the 50 out of the plastic cells that I didn't need and I then had to get the eggs out of the 400 mock cells. Grafting is the better option but I personally, don't have the time or the patience for it.

 

[Hivemaker.]

but if time and consistency is the essence then ....

If time is of the essence then grafting is fastest,especially if larvae are needed from several different colonys,and far cheaper as well,brush or grafting tool and some cups. Ten minutes or so, 20 grafts done,and no faffing about caging queens ect.

 

[ENZO]

I tried cell punches this year for the first time and 9 out of 10 were accepted, and so easy to do, no fiddling about with delicate larvae and what makes it so easy is the you can punch an egg, it does not have to be a 12 hour old larvae for it to work.

For small scale, I think it a great system.

Enzo

 

[tberni]

Glad it worked for too Enzo. Don't get me wrong, wish I could graft but I find it too fiddly. So easy putting a jenter in and 24 hous later the cells are full with eggs. Will leave the grafting to those with good eye sight, a steady hand and plenty of time and patience.

When I said time is the esence I was actually referring to the practice needed. Hitting a golf ball onto the green takes 30 seconds - practising to be able to do it takes a little longer!!!

 

[Poly Hive]

and my comment on the jenter which is being over looked is that the queen can and in my experience often does, avoid laying in the plug cells leaving as I said the only option to save the loss of time to graft.

The jenter is NOT bomb proof By any means.

And yes Hivemaker if you need it done in a hurry, ie the queen is playing silly girls then the grafting tool is the tool.

PH

 

[rich]

YEPPIE ............. All but two accepted, so we's in business.
Now it's a panic to get some more nuc's made LOL ....

Thanks P.H for the box of young bee’s idea, so simple.... I, like you, am a big advocator of the KISS method for all thing in life....

Rich

 

[BobsBees]

Hi Rich,
I have had three goes at grafting so far this month, all rejected.
I was going to have another go this week-end but the weather forecast is NOT good for Sunday Mon Tues. Very low temperatures.
So I will hang on a bit longer. Plenty of Drones about, but again very late this year.
Good luck everyone.
Bob.