transporting grafted cells

[piggy]

Due to the current conovirus situation we all find ourselves in, my Q rearing is having to take a different approach this year.I rear Q's with an other person who lives about an hours drive away, the breeder Q's are at his place.I graft at his place 20 cells for him each week, I average 15+/20.We thought it would be best if i made a Q-nuc and transport the frame of brood to graft from to my place and graft my cells at my place, this worked well, but was extra work in making the nuc. This last week i grafted at his place my 20 cells and transported them wrapped in damp j cloth and a towel, put them in the cell builder and hoped for the best. I look this morning and 10/20 have been accepted. The cells were facing up, did some get covered in jelly and drown or some other reason. Should i transport them facing down as they would be in the cell builder. there normal position Your thought please !

I will try again next week.

 

[Ian123]

All the books agree you want to get the bees on the cells as soon as possible. If you grab a couple of frames of eggs you could take them back and add to a hive at home only viable eggs will produce larvae and no need to make up a nuc. Just wrap the eggs larvae as you did the grafts and bring home. Simply add the frame to any hive a couple of boxes above the brood boxes. You may even get a couple of bonus q-cells

 

[piggy]

eggs would be o.k.[brother adam used to send eggs through the post i believe]

but we are hoping to synchronise the Q emergence, hence the grafting on the same day. Maybe I have to be happy with a lower acceptance with the transported grafts. I'll try again

 

[piggy]

Only 7/20 in nicot cups. Grafted cells were transported facing down in a damp j cloth. Back to the drawing board!

 

[mbc]

For sealed cells ready to go into nucs I have a block of insulation with 50 holes cut out which sits in a fish box on top of a hot water bottle, works fine for a couple of hours.
For transporting cells just started I'd make sure loads well fed queenless bees surrounded them.
They're fed hundreds of times a minute at that age and you wouldn't want them to miss out on crucial nutrition.