I was taught grafting by Sue Cobey, developer of the New World Carniolans.
Sue advises priming cells with royal jelley, not as feed for the larvae, but
as a 'lubricant' of sorts to get the larvae off the grafting tool.  This
works for me.  With my eyesight, I can't actually see the larvae being
transferred.  I know the larvae is on the end of the tool when it enters the
cell, and I can see it inside the cell after transfer, but I have to rely on
'feel' to get it off the tool and onto the primed jelley.

Sue Cobey advises that the workers immediately remove the royal jelley used
for priming, replacing it with the good stuff.

Since taking her course I have set up the cell builder/finishing colony as
she suggested.  That is, 10 lbs. of mostly-nurse bees shaken from 3-5
colonies, no brood of any age, and held for 6-12 hours before introduction
of the grafted frame.  It is truly amazing to see the bees instantly
recognize the larvae and decend en masse onto the frame!  I have had up to
22 (out of 24) large well-formed cells from such a setup.



-- 
Lloyd Spear
Owner Ross Rounds, Inc.
Manufacture of equipment for round comb honey sections,
Sundance Pollen Traps, and producer of Sundance custom labels.
Contact your dealer or www.RossRounds.com <http://www.rossrounds.com/>

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