# breeding queen by scratching worker comb



## AramF (Sep 23, 2010)

I could have sworn that recently I read a post by someone who really simplified the queen rearing, by saying that all you really need to do is to take a worker brood and just destroy some comb right under hatched larva. Sort of like create a long pocket 3 cell wide and 7 cells deep under hatched larvae. In a queenless nuc or hive the bees will get working on that larvae right away to convert her cell into a queen cell faster. BTW, I am not talking about the bullet method and pouring flour into the comb. This one was a little different from that.

For the life of me, I cannot find that post. Would the author be willing to comment on the method here, or to put a reference to that post?


----------



## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Wasn't me, but the method will work.

Just ensure they are eggs or very young larvae, and there's heaps of bees, and pollen and nectar.


----------



## dmpower (Nov 7, 2010)

It wasn't me either, but . . 

I recently attended a class at a club beekeeping school.
"On the spot queen rearing for honey production" given by Mel Disselkoen Apiaries - www.mdasplitter.com. The process he uses is the one you described.
He uses a hive tool to remove the cell wall below the larva.

I found him a little hard to follow, but I blamed it on the fact that he had already taught the class earlier in the day, and people returned to ask more questions. Unfortunately that meant that I wasn't necessarily getting the information in the same order as it was given in the first class. That and the fact that it isn't difficult to confuse me . . .

It looks like his site has been updated recently and should provide a bit more information.

Good luck


----------



## AramF (Sep 23, 2010)

On-The-Spot Queen Rearing <--- that's it. Thank you.


----------



## BeeAware (Mar 24, 2007)

The method works well as long as you destroy larvae next to the cells you wish to rear queens in. Otherwise, they will be connected together making the removal of queen cells difficult. You can also rear queens without removing the lower cell wall if you place the frame horizontally on top of frames in a queenless hive. Use spacers to allow bees to work under the frame.


----------



## dmpower (Nov 7, 2010)

BeeAware said:


> The method works well as long as you destroy larvae next to the cells you wish to rear queens in. Otherwise, they will be connected together making the removal of queen cells difficult. You can also rear queens without removing the lower cell wall if you place the frame horizontally on top of frames in a queenless hive. Use spacers to allow bees to work under the frame.


 I believe he used this process to make new splits and didn't remove the queen cells - other than the possible more than one that he needed for that split.
He started with 8 frames of brood: 2 frames stayed with the queen, and he made 3 splits each with 2 frames. He destroyed the extra cells he didn't need.
He also talked about the horizontal frame.


----------



## Jim 134 (Dec 1, 2007)

AramF said:


> I could have sworn that recently I read a post by someone who really simplified the queen rearing, by saying that all you really need to do is to take a worker brood and just destroy some comb right under hatched larva. Sort of like create a long pocket 3 cell wide and 7 cells deep under hatched larvae. In a queenless nuc or hive the bees will get working on that larvae right away to convert her cell into a queen cell faster. BTW, I am not talking about the bullet method and pouring flour into the comb. This one was a little different from that.
> 
> For the life of me, I cannot find that post. Would the author be willing to comment on the method here, or to put a reference to that post?


The Miller Method of Queen Rearing

The book is

Fifty Years
Among the Bees
BY
DR. C. C. MILLER
http://www.soilandhealth.org/03sov/0302hsted/030208miller/030408miller.PDF


Condensed from 50 years Among the Bees
is at

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmillermethod.htm


BEE HAPPY Jim 134


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>all you really need to do is to take a worker brood and just destroy some comb right under hatched larva.

The bees still need some kind of incentive to rear a queen. Emergency, supersedure or swarm instincts have to also be involved otherwise they will just fix the comb. Queen rearing is pretty much the same as far as needing to set that off, no matter what the method is of getting them to use the larvae you choose... or not bothering to choose...

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesqueenrearing.htm#queenrearingconditions


----------



## kilocharlie (Dec 27, 2010)

Jim- Thanks for posting that thread to http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmillermethod.htm

Michael Bush - Thank you very, very much for your time and effort transcribing and editing that part of Dr. Miller's book. So interesting to hear it from the horse's mouth instead of 100+ years of permutations and third-hand (at best). That book is on my shopping list.


----------



## Adrian Quiney WI (Sep 14, 2007)

:thumbsup: for Mr. Bush. A couple of days ago I was looking at the Hopkins method from the horse's mouth, on Mr. Bush's site.


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

You are welcome. I tried to get the best gathered there. I have more if I get time to type them in...


----------

