Trevor Weatherhead offered some good advice:

> Have you tried the Chinese grafting tools?
Yes, i have. I found the pen even better. I do not believe that transferring the larvae is my problem. I found it easy to pick the smallest larva and i got the same results when i used the Jenter box, which is more or less foolproof. I have taken care to keep the larvae out of the sun and warm and in a humid environment.

> Why are you using cell protectors?  Unless conditions are very bad, the
> finishing colony should not pull them down.
I use them primarily because if i don't, the frame will be covered with drawn comb and i'll have to cut the cells out. Am i doing something wrong here? When the flow is on, my bees build comb... What do you mean by "conditions are very bad"? Lack of space?

> If the larvae are still white then they have a day or so to go to hatch.  If
> it is the day they are due to hatch they should be starting to turn brown.
I have cut the cells open 17-18 days after the egg was laid. The queens should be fully developed and hatched by then, right?

> Are they getting chilled because of the cell protectors?
Don't know. Will the few millimeters of air around the cell becuse of the protectors cause this? The cell is still in the middle of a strong colony. But i really think the protector step of the process is my problem. If someone could tell me how to avoid the comb buildup, i'd skip the protectors and take the risk of an early queen ripping open the other cells. I have pretty good control over hatching timing.

> Have you had the "mess" checked for black queen cell virus?  Your
> description seems to fit BQCV.  Also have it checked for European foulbrood.
> EFB can kill queen larvae.
No, i haven't. If it happens again, i certainly will.

> Have you ever tried the "Cloake" method of queen rearing?  It was developed
> by Harry Cloake from New Zealand and uses the one colony for starting and
> finishing.  I use a slight variation on it.
No, i haven't. I'd be happy to try it, but i'd like to get the standard methods working a couple of times first. Where can i learn more about this method.

/Mats Andersson

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