Aaron Morris wrote:
> Remember when starting grafts to use very young larvae, less that
> two days old....
 
David Eyre challenged:
> Second. Isn't the timing off a bit?. It takes eggs three days to
> hatch!
 
No, there's nothing wrong with the timing, it's an issue of semantics.
But it's important for everyone to be on the same base and this issue
WAS addressed at "queen school".  Basic bee biology: the queen lays the
eggs, which take three days to hatch.  You know when the eggs hatch
because you can see the egg shells.  NO, I'm kidding here!!!  Initially
the eggs are simple structures - zygotes surrounded by a chitonous
shell standing up/glued to the bottom of the brood cell.  During the
three days as an egg, cell divisions take place, the structure becomes
more complex and when the egg hatches a chemical substances is released
which dissolves the shell, the egg lays down, ceases being an egg and
commences to be a larva.  It is at this point in time that the clock
starts running with regard to the 48 hour window for grafting a larva.
 
Now, because I'm sure there will be some to challenge the 48 hour figure
I have to take the time to agree that the larva can be more than 48
hours old and still produce a queen.  Yes, a three day old larva can
produce a queen.  Going back to basic bee biology: ANY egg - wait!, any
FERTILIZED egg can produce a queen.  Under the proper conditions, any
less than three day old larva that hatches from a fertilized egg can
produce a queen.  It is the queen producing beekeeper's job to mimic the
proper conditions to change the destiny of the grafted less than 3 day
old larva that hatched from the fertilized egg.  Because there can be
variation in the growth pattern/development time of individual
fertilized eggs and larvae, an "optimal" candidate is a larva that is
48 hours old.  It is also noteworthy that the sooner a queen rearing
beekeeper can change the destiny of the developing larva the more likely
they are to have better results.
 
Since the larva does not come with a time stamp, it is important to
develop a feel for the proper size for the larva.  Laidlaw described
this as a larva about 1 and a half times the size of an egg.
I am able to see eggs, but when they lay down and become larvae the bees
start feeding them with royal jelly.  My eyes are such that I am not
able to pick out larvae swimming in a pool of royal jelly until the
larva has grown to a size/achieved an age where they are too old to
graft.  Some queen rearing techniques confine a queen in an area or on a
frame or frames to ensure that all larvae in that area, frame or frames
will be very close to the same age.  Confining a queen assures that four
or five days later all larvae it that area are ideal candidates for
grafting.
 
For the rest of the story I recommend _Contemporary_Queen_Rearing_.
 
Aaron Morris - thinking no matter what is written, no matter how
               carefully, somebody's gonna challenge it!