Rearing Queens

• #1- What does it mean to “rear queens?”

• #2- Benefits of Rearing your own Queens.

Now let’s get into the core of each point! The world of beekeeping is waiting for you!

To start with this week, I want to make you aware of a change that I’m making. Finding myself quite busy with beekeeping tasks this year, I am going to begin sending out a new newsletter bi-weekly rather than each and every week. Thanks for your understanding!

Point #1- What does it mean to “rear queens?”

Rearing queens is basically this: making your own queens. Using the knowledge of specific conditions under which a colony will draw queen cells, we can create similar circumstances coupled with specific skills in order to have a colony make queen cells for us on a large scale.

We can raise queen cells to re-queen our colonies, replace failing or old queens in our colonies, we can make splits using queen cells; giving them a head start over walk-away splits and we can sell queen cells.

The following pictures show the main component of the Nicot Queen Rearing System:

Point #2- Benefits of Rearing your own Queens.

If you’re a beekeeper then at some point you have likely found one or more of your colonies queen-less. This is a problem IF they fail to make another queen from the brood nest.

There’s something especially tricky as well about double checking your colonies for a laying queen during the summer time. If they do not have a laying queen at this point in the year because they lost their previous one due to whatever reason, then they may need your intervention asap!

Rearing queens can be extremely helpful for you. Here are some situational examples:

• When you find a queen-less colony.

• When you have a poor queen needing replaced.

• When you have a “hot” hive and need a more gentle bee.

• You have a buddy beekeeper who needs a queen.

• You want to learn it and get good at it to sell cells, or mated queens someday.

I have tried rearing queens using the grafting method but with inconsistent results. It seems that no matter how good I got at grafting, it was never at the level I needed it to happen.

That’s why I’m learning the Nicot Queen Rearing Method, a non-grafting method so that I don’t have to be good at anything except for counting days 😆 .

Check out the Nicot Rearing Book here and the Equipment here: Cell grid kit with all the parts that come with it.

Thanks for reading all the way to the bottom 😉. I want to hear from you!