# 3 Day Cells



## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

I've been using (and posting about) 2 day cells recently. I had some ready for a customer yesterday, but didn't get to my splits until today...not really an issue since I didn't have to transport them (48 hours is better for transport...the larva is just eating...by day 3 she might twist out of position if uncomfortable). After I planted the 4 I was using today, I took some photos...then I ate the rest of the queen larvae (9 of them), and froze the cells with royal jelly.




























You can simply place them between the top bars...









And if you see the royal jelly after 24 hours still in the cell, then they are likely queenless and building the cell.









Or you can make a small hollow in some comb and press into the wax.


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## sakhoney (Apr 3, 2016)

better acceptance on a frame of brood deknow


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

Yes, I know....I used that frame for visibilty...it is up against brood.


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## sakhoney (Apr 3, 2016)

got ya


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

I have a friend who is a great photographer...one of the things he says that I hear in my head every time I'm going to shoot a frame is, "the photographer is ALWAYS responsible for the background".


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## sakhoney (Apr 3, 2016)

I hear ya - but please understand - not being smarta$$ - As you know bees will take cells better on brood - Those are some good looking cells though. Guys here don't pull them until there fully capped though. Then a couple of days before they are to hatch - you can hold them up to a light and see if there moving - hereby culling the duds


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

sakhoney said:


> I hear ya - but please understand - not being smarta$$ - As you know bees will take cells better on brood - Those are some good looking cells though. Guys here don't pull them until there fully capped though. Then a couple of days before they are to hatch - you can hold them up to a light and see if there moving - hereby culling the duds


Yes, I've done it all different ways.

At 48 hours the larva transport very well (in another thread, Joe Latshaw reported 25% mated queens from 48 hour cells...which doesn't sound great, until you realize they were shipped in the mail without attendants...transported by beekeepers they do much better). 

I transport them in jars with attendants (2 piece lids with 1/8" screen in the middle lets the cell nipple to hold in the mesh), and with a largish cluster of bees and feeding them honey, they will increase the amount of RJ in the cells during the day.

The cells are cheap to produce to this stage (no finisher), and timing and scheduling is vastly simplified (graft one day, plant cells 2 days later)....no early emergence killing the rest of the cells.

You can have them ready with 2 days notice.

If a split has a queen by mistake (don't ask me how I know) and you give them a 48 hour cell, it is chewed down the next day...same if they have a virgin. You can pop a second one in 2 weeks later without even looking for a queen.

The downside is that you make your splits earlier (when the parent colonies could have grown in the meantime).

Sam Comfort (who introduced me to this method) will plant 2 cells in each split...then comes back when ripe, makes another split and uses one of the ripe cells.

It is certainly not 'the norm' here either, but everyone seems to want to raise queens (or have someone local do it). This removes so much overhead (scheduling, finisher, mating nucs) from the process.

I've done virgins and ripe cells in an incubator...but having queens when others need them requires a few weeks prep, and I only need them in spurts for my own purposes...not every week. ..this is a much better fit for my schedule, and I think for a lot of beekeepers that want to raise queens.


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

I took a quick peek on Sunday am before leaving for market (and overnight). The cell on the partially drawn plastic comb with nectar had been rejected...when I was making the splits I didn't see the queen...but once I saw the cell torn down I knew where to find her.

The parent hive had been left with only one frame of brood...so there were cells started there...which I transfered to the split, and returned the queen to the parent colony (in a cage for the moment...will probably release her tomorrow).


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## sakhoney (Apr 3, 2016)

I guess I'm lazy when it comes to making cells. My method is this
Find a hive I like - transfer old queen to a nuc with at least 2 frames of capped brood - move her out
On the top of hive - gray tape - put date I removed the queen.
Let the bees raise the cells on there own - I use an average of 10 cells per hive - Like if I need 20 - I do 2 hives
Back in 8 days and cut ripe cells off of the combs - install in cell protectors - install in nucs - also spreads different genes - don't over saturate my bees with the same genetics 
EZ peezee


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

That all sounds good, and I have done things that way...I don't find that cutting the cells out and dealing with them to work well for me (I'm saying I don't like doing it that way...not that there is anything wrong)...I've notched cells (a la OTS), I've trimmed comb to get the cells drawn on the bottom of the cut...for me it is easier to graft and have cells that I can easily handle and transport...the other 3 cells I planted the other day were just dropped between the top bars, and they are being tended to and still show rj from the top. The 48 hour thing just cuts the entire queen rearing calendar down to a 3 day window of work (and only the possibility of getting 3 days behind if things don't go well).

I use a strong nuc (2 or 3 stories....5 frame, deeps) with extra nurse bees as a starter (add capped brood). I remove the queen and keep giving them room to store honey. At some point it feels like time to retire the starter, and I combine it with a smaller laying nuc. I can start 20-40 cells...usually i graft around 15.


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