One of the best quality videos I’ve seen . You can actually see the larva and exactly how you transferred to the cup well done!

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Hello Ryan, Thank you for that and I thought it would be helpful to see the full transfer process! Thanks again!

This is a great video. I have been watching queen rearing videos for over a week and none explained how it is done. Thank you for this video. I can not believe how easy it is.

Just what I was looking for. Going to try this next month (March 2024), This is my 6th season beekeeping.

@brandonsbees1

3 ай бұрын

Hey Richard, Glad it was helpful, and I hope you have a successful attempt in March! Best of beekeeping in 2024

Finally a close up view of the tool technique, thanks

@brandonsbees1

5 ай бұрын

Very welcome

Thats really good and i live the transparency and honesty. I also love how clear this video is, i cant wait to try doing this myself, just gotta save some $ somehow lol.

I tried grafting for the first time last year on a hot dry day. There was not as much royal jelly as you had to dip into. I did not cover the grafts with a cloth. I think all of my grafts dried out in 10 minutes, I put them in the starter hive and zero queens took. Thank You for the video, I did learn some things. I think I will feed the hive I graft from so that they may make more royal jelly. Good Job on the video!!!!

@brandonsbees1

4 ай бұрын

Thank you for the comment. There are many things that go into grafting queen cells but yes try to feed them and see if that makes a difference! Make sure they are queen less then they will pull those grafts out. Keep practicing and thanks for the comment!

You make it look easy Brandon, I know it's not but I am greatly inspired by your demonstration here, thank you so much for sharing with us.

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the kind words!

Very nice video quality. You’ve motivated me to try grafting. Thank you!

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Hello Kimberly! I'm glad that this video has brought out some motivation! All I ask is that you let me know how they turn out and try and try again as you can see, I'm far from perfect also!

When you take the larva out can you press down on the adjoining cell to get the larvae out better. Great video on raising queens.

@brandonsbees1

3 ай бұрын

Great question. A lot of the times I do press down on the adjacent cell to see the one I'm trying to get from better!

Those are gonna be some amazing queens! Well done!

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

I have seen a few grafting videos , yours has the best footage of up close with larva and very clear of what they look like and actually getting them out of the cells , only a question probably many ask is why their take is not as good as it should be , seeing your larvae on what you picked out for the cells yet still approximately 50% take so that million dollar question why they didn’t accept the others has me stumped. Awesome video this one , 👍

Hey Brandon's Bees I've added your channel to my channel home page because I watched all three of your queen raising videos. Very well done. Thanks, I'm going to try grafting this season.

@brandonsbees1

3 ай бұрын

Please do and let me know how it goes if you get a chance! Glad you enjoyed it and keep up with the content as I continue to show things on here. Thanks much!

Best Close-Up Video Footage ! Awesome. . . So many Folk shake and wobble their Camera's: that will not Focus either ! Sure I couldn't do the Camera work either. Do want to try & attempt some Grafting over Splits (or Indenting Comb) to make a HQL Hive 'make' me some Queen Cells. . . 😎 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 Happy Beekeeping 2024 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

@brandonsbees1

4 ай бұрын

Thank you very much! You should try and try again... I don't think the technique will ever be perfect but yes, I do like the process of indenting the comb also! Best of beekeeping in 2024!

Thanks for the step by step video.

Those are some nice looking cells.

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! Appreciate that a lot.

I've been pretty intimidated about making my own queens. You completely took that away with your simple, straight forward explanations. I had seen videos of people with all kinds of things set up in their house, way too complicated. Your method is perfect. Thanks! Yes, I did learn something and gained some courage. :)

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Hello Shawn, I'm more than happy to hear that and if you run across any questions, please ask but I don't always have the answer either Haha! All I ask is that you let me know how they turn out or how you might've done it a little different with success in a different way! Best of luck!

Great info. I’m confused you said not to flip upside down but when you put in the hive did they not get turned upside down? I may have misunderstood how you were inserting the graft initially. Ty

Wow that's awesome!!! 8 of them made, so cool! 😊

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! 😁

That's awesome. I want to try making queens this year. Very informative video. You make it look so easy.

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Hello Brad, You should make some or try and try again. It's very satisfying and lots of practice helps. Thanks, and let me know how those queens turn out!

@bradhiebert6403

Жыл бұрын

@@brandonsbees1 I will do that. I want to expand my hive knowledge and this is one great way. Nobody here does that. They just buy more queens.

Thank you, Brandon. I didn't know that Jzbz cups are used in the channels of honeycomb top frames. Thank you for this useful information.

@brandonsbees1

11 ай бұрын

I use them on the channels for ease. They can also be used on the comb themselves also! Thanks!

Thank you for the video. You can really see what your doing. Making queens are on my list of to does when i get good at my bees. Im just not at that point yet. Im sure ill have all the tools way before im ready to make them 😂

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Hello Melissa, Thank you I hope it’s easy to see! When you get to that point let me know how they turn out!

This is absolutely the best example I have seen of all the videos I have watched. Great job.

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Thank you Mike! I really appreciate the support.

@mikeschulz6748

Жыл бұрын

The towel that you cover the queen cells with is that just a dry towel or do you have it damp?

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

@@mikeschulz6748 Its a hot, damp towel. Larvae have an issue with humidity control (needs to stay high humidity) but are more flexible when it comes to temperature! I cover mine to try and keep as much humidity as possible.

First time viewer and that was a wonderful and clear video, thanks, you should do well. Where did you buy your queen cells?

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

They are JZ BZ queen cell cups that I previously purchased from Mann Lake. Thank you for the kind comment.

Nice job. I hope to get into some queen rearing in the future.

@brandonsbees1

11 ай бұрын

Thanks Bruce I appreciate that a lot! You should get into it and I'd enjoy talking to you about it. If you have any questions or just want to talk about bees/queens feel free to reach out at brandonsbees@gmail.com. I'd love to start branching out and learn different things.

@brucesbees

11 ай бұрын

@@brandonsbees1 I subscribed. I look forward to following your journey. Are you familiar with Greg at Natures Image Farm and Brian at Castle Hives?

@brandonsbees1

11 ай бұрын

@@brucesbees appreciate that Bruce and yes I’m familiar with Brian and Greg! I think Greg does the learning yards and he is in Ohio also. I need to connect with them since we are all from Ohio for the opportunity to connect.

@brucesbees

11 ай бұрын

@@brandonsbees1 yes you should. Brian is up around Cleveland. And Greg is in the Zanesville area.

@brandonsbees1

11 ай бұрын

@@brucesbees I will reach out to them both! Hope you don't mind me mentioning you pointed me in their direction! P.S. Maybe I'll have the pleasure of getting to have you on a live stream in the future when the season slows down.

Are you using a lighted magnifier to film this and to see to do the grafting? This looks easy if one can see the larvae like that.

@brandonsbees1

4 ай бұрын

I don't use a magnifier when grafting as I can see in the cells with the naked eye. I know of other beekeepers who buy prescription glasses just for this process.

@donaltland7957

4 ай бұрын

What camera did you use to film this?@@brandonsbees1

Good job, I’m going to do some grafting in next spring

@brandonsbees1

6 ай бұрын

Thank you. Let me know how it goes!

Great video! Was your cell builder created with frames from several hives or did you remove the queen from a queenright hive? If you removed the queen, how do you store her? Thanks

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Hey Beeman, I skimmed the extra frames of brood and shook nurse bees all from multiple hives to create the builder before grafting! Thanks for the kind comment!

Awesome video. Really enjoyed very informative. Great job!!

@brandonsbees1

2 ай бұрын

Thank you so much I appreciate you watching!

You have a lot of information covered in only 9 minutes. The cells look wonderful and I'm sure you're happy with the results. My question is what do you do with the extra virgin queens if you get a better-than-average take? Do you have a favorite mating nuc you use?

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Hello John, If I want to increase by a certain number of colonies but have more than that as extra queen wise ill double up the cells in the mating nuc and let the bees decide which one they want or let the stronger queen take over. The company "Dadant" has a "Deep Queen Rearing Hotel Select Assembled" that I use for mating boxes and have loved them ever since! Appreciate the comment and great questions!

I've been a bee keeper for a little over 25 years I've never made my own queens I've always bought queens. I rent for pollination so I ain't got much time to make queens. Nowadays the bees have mites and beetles to deal with years ago an old bee keeper told me start running Russians they can deal with mites and beetle better than any bee. He was right. Also Russian bees tent to survive winter much better than any bee. But they are alot more aggressive. Of course I rent for pollination that alone can stress a hive. Making my own queens would have saved me THOUSANDS of dollars. Any just getting into bee keeping I suggest Russians to many times a new bee keeper with purchase everything needed and the bee die over winter or from mites and discourage the new keeper. Russians also produce more honey. I can definitely see why a easy going bee is easier to work with while grafting.

Wow, this is a great video , you made the process seem a lot easier,.It’s awesome to see exactly how you did it and the instruction as you go thru. Thanks for this. Where did you get your tool.

@brandonsbees1

6 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful! Trying to make the information simple. The tool I got either from Amazon or Mannlake and it is the "chinese grafting tool". Thanks for watching!

Great vid. Are JZBZ cups reusable or do you toss them after a single use? Thanks for posting.

@brandonsbees1

4 ай бұрын

Thank you and I don't reuse the JZBZ cups. I have heard from other beekeepers that the take of the cells goes down and then I hear of others who use warm water to "clean" the cups to reuse them.

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it. I have one question is do you leave your cell builder closed in all the time? Thank you

@brandonsbees1

Ай бұрын

You're welcome hope you enjoyed it! I always leave an entrance for these cell builders. For bees to come and go and to regulate heat I never completely enclose them without an escape. Thanks much!

Wow, its very cool, May i know your Bees species and sub species ?

@brandonsbees1

8 ай бұрын

Hello Logan, thank you for the comment! But without running a lab test for genetics on our stock, the only thing I can state is that we have a mixture of Carniolan and Italian stock.

Men your bees are gentle,,damn in Africa we deal with mad bees,,crazy!!

One question on my mind is that the direction of the queen cell is towards the gravity (surface), the developing larvae that are grafted will not fell down ??

@brandonsbees1

Ай бұрын

Good idea/ point but the cup is face down in order for the bees to draw it out. Im not sure why they do it that way but a queen cell going down vertically is how they make queen cells!

Great detail thank you

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

You're welcome and thanks for the comment

Looking forward to the next video. Now that you have the Queens forming, what happens next?

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Great question! I like to make "mating nucs". These are two frames of bees that have resources and brood emerging to take care of the queen cell. When the queen emerges, she will either mate and lay... or sadly not make it/not mate. From there I can give more resources to these laying queens resulting in another colony gained.

@Uplift2023

Жыл бұрын

@Brandon's Bees Excellent. Make a video please.

Excellent video, I just subscribed!

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! That means a lot to me!

Nice job, thanks for the video.

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Thanks, I appreciate that. Working on getting the information in the description per your other comment!

Id go for a little younger larva.. I was told find moon shape.. not C shape.. They look like good queens though!

@brandonsbees1

2 ай бұрын

The younger you can go the better! Its easier for me to not "flip" the larvae with the C shaped! thanks for the comment!

This is very interesting. But can you do this without those cups and that lil tooly. You would still need to buy those. Is there any way to do this without buying the cups?

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

This is a grafting method specifically. There are other ways to raise queens but, in my experience, I like to have them develop the queens as early as possible and this creates no other competition for my grafts such as other young larvae that would be in the hive! Some people make wax cells out of candle wax instead of buying the JZs BZs cups. I have never tried them but it's possible to do so.

Nice video. Made it look easy.

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Thank you much I appreciate that!

I have a couple of questions How long does it take to emerge from the cell? Do we need to keep in a hive until it fully get matured?

@brandonsbees1

Ай бұрын

From egg laid to hatching it takes 16 days for the queen to emerge on average. We graft when they go from egg to larvae around the 3- or 4-day mark so for me on average it takes 13 or 12 days for them to emerge after grafting. I keep my queen cells in individual roll cages in an incubator until they are about to emerge. If you keep them in the hive, I recommend something to keep them separated in case one emerges early and tries to get rid of the rest of your cells!

Great

@brandonsbees1

10 ай бұрын

Thank you

Hey just a thought, how about listing you source for your tools for those that may want to give it a try?

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Hey Bee Democracy, I think that is a great idea. I'll work on getting some information in the description of the video for anyone interested in using these tools! Thanks for the helpful comment.

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

I added some information in the description. Thanks again.

Very good video sir, I would like to try that but my one eye sight it very poor. I have got cheaters but I don’t think it would help. Again very good Thanks

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Hey Richard, Yeah I agree it can be tough to see down in the cells sometimes. On the bright side there is more than one way to raise queens. Thanks for the support!

I saw a video or read an article years ago where a guy intentionally flipped half of his larvae and the take rate was the same.

@brandonsbees1

Ай бұрын

I need to test that out then!

Makes me hungry for a peanut butter and royal jelly sandwich

How do I place the queen cell in each hive . How to position it between the frames or what?

@brandonsbees1

11 ай бұрын

Hey Seymore, Here is a link to a video I made that will help answer the how to place the queen cells in each hive or how I do it. Some like to put the cell on the comb around brood to help keep the cell warm. Try different ways out and hope it goes well! kzread.info/dash/bejne/iGaK2pSoes_Npbg.html

@seymorewright4176

11 ай бұрын

@@brandonsbees1 hello I mean when you put the egg in the cups when grafting .how do place the cups upside-down or up right? Explain to me I want t o try grafting.

@brandonsbees1

11 ай бұрын

@@seymorewright4176 the cell will be facing down so the open end down.

Do you ever taste the royal jelly?

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

I have not but it's on my TO DO list! Just haven't yet!

Nice resolution

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Thank you !

love u

Is there a how to book that you would recommend gor step by step wueen rearing?

@brandonsbees1

11 ай бұрын

Thats a great question. The book that has helped me the most would be, "Queen Rearing Essentials". I can't remember if this is a step-by-step book but it gets more into the weeds about queens! I would start there and then check out my queen mating nuc made simple video. I put a graphic in the video that shows timelines of grafting that could be helpful. Hope this helps! Thanks.

@Nectarking

11 ай бұрын

Thanks, I'll look into it

Any way great. . . . . we lost our . local bee becouse of swarm ...so .....my question it that if i have queen. just put in to that box then they creat colony or ?

@brandonsbees1

4 ай бұрын

sorry to hear about the swarm. The queen bee needs worker bees to help support the young as the queen doesn't take care of the young herself. Usually people buy packages of bees (3 lbs. of bees) with their queen. There are different routes I would look around in your area to see what works best for you.

I don’t mind so much gentleness, I’m more in hygienic and healthy and resistant genetic colony, honey production is probably my last goal. Though a Africanist bees are far off my favourite’s.

@brandonsbees1

Жыл бұрын

Hey Benjamin, I think those are great traits to look for and ideal for strong colonies. If it was up to me I’d pick much more than just a handful of treats! Thanks for sharing.

@apveening

Жыл бұрын

@@brandonsbees1 You selected those new queens for desired traits, but how about the drones they will mate with?

Use Carnica - from Slovenia and you will win not Ligustica !

So there's eggs that look like rice, then there's hatched eggs?

@brandonsbees1

11 ай бұрын

yes there is an egg that is in that stage for three days. After that, the egg will hatch into a small larva.

Good video.. stop looking at the viewer on your camera.