Michael Palmer wrote:
>I really don't understand why beekeepers want to raise queen cells with a
>non-grafting method. 

I agree with Mike, mostly. There are some people who'll be unable to tell
which larvae are the right age and there'll be some who won't be able to
pick them up. 

Getting the age right is a matter of confining the queen to one frame with
excluders. Put an empty black comb in and take it out after four days. All
the larvae will be 24 hrs. old or less. Picking them up just takes good eyes
and practice.

However! if you can't or don't want to do it, the really easy way is to make
good strong nucs and let them "grow their own". This method has been used
for centuries, and is pretty reliable. 

I am not sure if forcing bees to raise queens like that produces inferior
results or not. I do know that you can produce real crummy queens by
grafting, especially if the cell builders don't have enough nurses. 

pb

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