# Queen cell handling



## Rob Mountain (Dec 8, 2003)

*Welcome to Commercial Queen Rearing.*

Welcome to Commercial Queen Rearing. Unfortunately time is money and no I don’t think that that was too rough.

I raised tens of thousands of queens for Strachan Apiaries and that’s the way it’s done. I must admit that he was being rather gentle.


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## honeyman46408 (Feb 14, 2003)

Barry Tolson said:


> I found this video clip on youtube. It was surprising to me, being inexperienced, that they handle the queen cell so rough...at least in a manner "I" thought was rough. It has always been my impression that queen cells are very fragile. Is this handling of queen cells typical for the large producers and does such handling result in a certain percentage of damage? Or, is such handling ok? I was really surprised that they had them upside down and strewn about in a pile. Looking for some opinions.
> Thanks
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYs5Ot0ayBw


I am not an Xpert by any means but when I went to "Sue Colby`s" queen rearing class a few years back that is NOT the way she tought us how to handle cells in fact she said never to turn one upside down. Could what we see here bee why we get a lot of inferror queens from comercial producers??


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## Barry Tolson (May 26, 2004)

I'm getting ready to graft for the first time and was concerned with handling of queen cells. I had planned on handling them very carefully, never turning them upside down nor on their sides. ...was wondering how to remove them from the cell bar without damaging them. After seeing this I think I can worry a little less. How do others remove the cells from the bar while keeping them properly oriented?


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

We just try our best, you can avoid over handling cells, its impossible. But the gentler you handle them has to be best for them. 

One time getting into a yard to cell my nucs, I had them placed all nice and neat in my warmed napkin basket, until I tripped over a root and fell over a row of hives. Cells flew all over the yard. So I picked them up, placed them into the nucs , and they took just the same as the rest of my nuc yards.


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## Dan Williamson (Apr 6, 2004)

Barry,

I do my best not to turn them upside down and try to handle them the gentlest way possible. I'm not doing hundreds at a time and it DOES take time to do it my way.... However, I think its worth the extra TLC!


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

They appear to be handeling ripe cells, the queen is pretty much developed. I dont think by thier handeling of the cells would of hurt the queen, as if the cells were younger and still developing
Thier handeling of the cell is pretty much the same as what I would do. How can you avoid turning a cell during the whole process?
I would have to think mature cells can be handled differently than younger capped cells.


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## Barry Tolson (May 26, 2004)

I guess I've had this vision in my mind of carefully excising each cell from the bar with surgical care and precision. I'm kind of laughing at myself now...knowing that I would have taken about a thousand times longer to do that job than is necessary! I don't see myself just zipping them off like that, but I will be doing it with less worry than I would have!


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

I know exactly what you mean Barry !


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## Dan Williamson (Apr 6, 2004)

Barry Tolson said:


> I guess I've had this vision in my mind of carefully excising each cell from the bar with surgical care and precision. I'm kind of laughing at myself now...knowing that I would have taken about a thousand times longer to do that job than is necessary! I don't see myself just zipping them off like that, but I will be doing it with less worry than I would have!


That is exactly how I do it Barry! Carefully!


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## tecumseh (Apr 26, 2005)

mr tolson writes:
I had planned on handling them very carefully, never turning them upside down nor on their sides. ...was wondering how to remove them from the cell bar without damaging them. After seeing this I think I can worry a little less. How do others remove the cells from the bar while keeping them properly oriented?

tecumseh writes:
never turning them upside down nor on their sides...

well good luck... although I can't figure out how you will accomplish this.

how do I do it? I pull the cell frame from my starter nuc (the nuc at about day two has been moved outside and into a five frame nuc box) and lay it on it side on the top of the nuc (at this point the cells are resting horizontally)... most of the clinging bees move downward... I then turn the frame on it top bar (upside down) and remove the bars of grafted cell from the frame (one at a time) and set these cell bar, one at a time, on the top of the nuc (yep the cells are now inverted from their natural position)... I then remove them one at a time and place in some kind of carrier/container (typically an egg carton) and yes the cells are transported to location resting in the container at about a 45 degree angle (neither vertical or horizontal). in cooler weather it is a good idea to add a bit of heat to the transport container (ususally a styrofoam cooler).

I would not handle 'green' cells (8 day or less from day of graft) in this manner. I would suggest that any handling of 'green' cells be reduced to the absolute minimum. the above description is for 9 to 10 day old cells (which some bee keepers call 'hot') should not be confused with the handling of green cells.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

>>the above description is for 9 to 10 day old cells (which some bee keepers call 'hot') should not be confused with the handling of green cells.


I am thinking this is where the advice of not turning or over handling queen cells gets confused.


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## tecumseh (Apr 26, 2005)

that was what I was thinking also Ian. 

a queen cell is a queen cell, but a 6 day old grafted cell is not the same as a 10 day old grafted cell.


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## Lucus76 (Mar 18, 2008)

It did not seem too rough to me, if the cell is ripe then there is a fully developed virgin in there. They are rugged little creatures and with the wax protection to boot. that being said, I handle them a bit gentler and still prepare a couple hundred at a time.


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## beemanlee (Dec 10, 2005)

*Be careful of the Queen's wings*

In the last day before the new Queens emerge at night, the wings are what can be damaged. This is when you should use care in putting them in your nucs. This is also when some will come out of the cells while you still have them all in a nurse nuc on bars. This is usually when you don't count the correct day to put them in nucs. Then you be trying to catch them before they kill each other. I didn't see the movie you were talking about, but the larve are very easy to handle after the cell is capped. I like to wait till the afternoon before they emerge to place them in their mating nuc. By doing this I know that the Queen will be able to fly and mate. 


Barry Tolson said:


> I found this video clip on youtube. It was surprising to me, being inexperienced, that they handle the queen cell so rough...at least in a manner "I" thought was rough. It has always been my impression that queen cells are very fragile. Is this handling of queen cells typical for the large producers and does such handling result in a certain percentage of damage? Or, is such handling ok? I was really surprised that they had them upside down and strewn about in a pile. Looking for some opinions.
> Thanks
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYs5Ot0ayBw


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