Queen Rearing

I just got into the queen rearing business and while I am new to the business aspect of this facet of the industry, I am not unfamiliar with raising queens and you don’t have to be either.

Raising your own queens to have in case something happens to your regularly-managed colonies can be easier than you think and it can also save your colonies precious time as well in growth, affecting your colony’ population and honey production.

Running your own mating nucs

Doing something as easy as managing several 2-3 frame mating nucs can keep you in-stock with mated queens that you can take advantage of at a moments notice and you don’t even have to graft!

When I first started beekeeping in north Georgia, I ran nine 3-frame mating nucs and did quite well with keeping mated queens on-hand when needed. Here’s how:

• First you need to either buy or make the nuc boxes. I prefer three frame so that they don’t get too big and swarm. Three frames for me was the sweet spot for proper, easy management.

• Second, you make splits from your regular colonies into the nucs. I like to take one frame of capped brood (for immediate reinforcements) covered in bees and one frame of open brood (for bees later) also covered in bees, plus one more frame of resources (pollen and nectar) also covered in bees. Make sure that you leave the queen in the parent colony.

• Thirdly, from the frame of open brood that you gave the split will likely have the correct aged larvae for the split to raise their own queen. Keep tabs on the dates so that you know when to check for a laying queen and just keep her in there until you need her for one of your regular colonies.

• Lastly, feed your nucs if there’s not a honey flow going one and if there is, don’t feed them.

It can be that simple. Just remember to keep up on your regular mite treatments so that all your hives and nucs will thrive. Learn more here in my video about my queen cell raiser!

Learning to graft is also an option and not as scary as you think it is. Here’s one of my queen cells from my first graft.