I too, would like to second this. I plan on trying several methods to raise queens that I have been researching. One method I started 3 weeks ago was to locate a frame of brood with young eggs and larva. I took this frame and after making sure the queen wasn't on the frame I moved it above the brood nest with a queen excluder between the two. 9 days later I came back to see if any queen cells were started and sure enough there was one beauty, but there was also one problem -- the cell was attached to two frames, at the top and bottom. In moving the frames to inspect the cell I ripped apart the new queen cell before I discovered the problem. Well, I moved another frame of young eggs and larva up above the queen excluder and told myself I would not disturb this hive until the 18th day, but when I discovered another hive I had queenless and decided to risk it and see if the cell had developed so I could relocate it to the queenless hive. I did it again. I ripped the cell apart because it was attached to both frames. Any ideas on what to do other than leave the cell alone until it hatches?. I plan to start some grafts tomorrow since weather has been beautiful here and is expected to stay that way for at least a week. I thought I better begin practicing so I can get a feel for every thing before I really need queens. I have ordered 20 3 # packages of bees with a queen from a honey producer in Utah. I will drive up to Utah and bring back the packages, then divide those into smaller nucs and put a queen cell with each one to get more nucs for my money. In my research I have come to understand that a queen with a 1/2 # of bees can be almost as effective in developing into a strong hive as a larger package can if proper management is given to it. It has been said that most of the bees that arrive in the package mature and die off shortly after the new brood begins to emerge from the cells and begin their duties. By getting 20 3# packages I should obtain 60 1# nucs or 120 1/2# nucs. I figured the worse that could happen if I experience total failure would be to reunite the nucs with the original packages and be back to the beginning with some possible attrition of bees, a little loss of time and an increase in experience. I also hope to experiment with a multi queen system. By this, I plan to continue taking bees I shake from my strong hives on a periodic basis, add a queen cell and develop them as nucs. Some I will develop in full hive bodies with dividers to give me 2, 3 and 5 frame nucs per hive body; some I will develop above an existing hive with a queen excluder between them. When I get close to a honey flow I plan on stacking multiple nucs on top of each other to form a stronger hive for the honey flow. In following the development of a hive that has been overwintered it seems to me that in our area (last frost date is May 1st) the hive emerges from winter with approximately 4 pounds (20,000) bees and then brood rearing begins in earnest. The queen begins to lay about 15,000 eggs by April 1st, 40,000 more by May 1st, another 40,000 more by June 1st and 30,000 more by July 1st to reach a hive strength of approximately 100,000 bees for the main honey flow. It therefore seems to me that the later you start in the season developing nucs the more one can compensate for the lack of egg laying by using multiple queens in one or more systems. I am not addressing the economics of these practices at this time only the theory I plan to explore. I have a great desire to expand my inventory of hives, but my financial resources are limited. There exits a catch 22. If I divide my exiting hives to make increase (beyond the standard divide of one hive into two hives and add a queen to the queenless hive) I sacrafice honey production on the other hand my growth is slow if I go for honey production and limit my divides. I believe I can have both by raising queens, manage their egg laying and then reorganize these nucs into strong hives before the honey flow. I have spent many a night researching, reading books, on Bee-L, thinking and drawing on my experience the last 30 years of beekeeping (10-50 hives, BV - Before Varroa), knowing there are flaws in my plans, but hoping and praying that the small details will work themselves out. Please give me your input, experiences and thoughts. It is my desire to increase my hives to 250 this season then to 1,000 by next year. (By the way, I build all of my own equipment in my shop. I have access to lots of cheap wood for frames and hive parts, with the equipment to finger joint lumber together to make hive bodies. My biggest need is bees.) Ed Costanza Edgewood, New Mexico