>Laidlaw suggests using diluted royal jelly to prime queen cell cups for
>grafting larvae.  Under the conditions I have of temperature and
>humidity, it seems desirable to prime the cups but I don't have royal jelly.
>
>Any suggestions?  I don't know what is isosmotic for the larvae.  With my
>last graft I tried diluting some of the honey from the open cells at the
>top of the bar I was using to graft from.  I'll see how those grafts were
>accepted tomorrow.
>
>Anyone tried saliva for priming the cups?  I've used saliva as a viscous
>medium to mount termite gut protozoa for viewing with a microscope, but I
>haven't tried it for other protozoa.  I suppose to get an answer with
>respect to the bee larvae, I should "ask the larvae" but I thought I see
>what others have done to prime cups for grafting.
>
>Looks like a good poplar flow here at Canton, GA about 40 mi N of
>Atlanta.  This is nice compared to last spring when, for the first time
>in 15 years, there was NO poplar flow!  I'm running 25 "modified
>Tanzanian Topbar Hives"...bees are happy...life is good.
>
>Hope you have a good year.
>
>Cordially yours,
>
>Jim
>
>  --------------------------------------------------------------
>  |  James D. Satterfield        |  E-Mail: [log in to unmask]      |
>  |  P.O. Box 2243                ------------------------------
>  |  Decatur, GA 30031, USA        258 Ridge Pine Drive        |
>  |  S.E. United States        or  Canton, GA 30114, USA       |
>  |  Telephone (404) 378-8917      Telephone (770) 479-4784    |
>  --------------------------------------------------------------
>
Hi James,
 
        As you prepare the cups for grafting place them into a hive for the
hive temperature to warm them to an even temp, or they can be placed into a
microbiology culture incubator. Then when the larvae are removed to graft,
the cells that you destroy as you prepare to transfer the larvae into the
cup, will have royal jelly in the bottom of each cell. Place this in the cup
before the larvae is place in it, they can be then used as queen cells, or
the double graft method as explained by Laidlaw can be used, however there
is no real difference, in the years that I have spent grafting  have found
no advantage of double grafts except the experience of doing it.
Thanks from :
                        [log in to unmask]
                 http://www.eastend.com.au/~goble
            [log in to unmask] ( David Goble )
           American Beach Kangaroo Island South Australia