Queen breeding at Jean Pierre's
Meet Jean-Pierre, an experienced beekeeper who shares his queen rearing method.
Here is a step-by-step summary of the queen rearing method (inspired by the Laurent Dugay method) presented by Jean-Pierre in the video:
1. Preparing the breeding hive (Modified 12-frame hive)
Separation: The hive is divided into two compartments by a partition (plywood) and a queen excluder. One side contains the queen with her normal swarm, and the other side is designated for queenlessness [03:25].
Temporary queenlessness: Close the entrance on the side where the queen is located to force the foragers to enter the queenless side, thus increasing the population for rearing [04:25].
2. Grafting (Picking)
Strain Selection: Choose a frame containing young larvae from one of your best colonies (selected strain) [11:41].
Preparing the Materials: Prepare a bar with queen cups (approximately 15 per bar) [14:44].
Removing the Larvae: Using a Chinese grafting tool, remove very young larvae (approximately 12 to 24 hours old maximum). The younger the larva, the better the future queen [18:42], [25:03].
Technical Tip: Moisten the grafting tool to make it more flexible and gently slide it under the larva without injuring it [26:05]. Keep the larvae protected from drying out with a damp cloth
[18:00].
3. Introduction and Acceptance
Setup: Introduce the grafting frame into the queenless section of Jean-Pierre's hive [30:27].
Feeding: Provide a light syrup (diluted with water, especially in warm weather) to encourage the bees to feed the queen cells [28:59], [31:29].
Attracting Nurses: 24 hours after grafting, open the connection between the two compartments and place a frame of open brood near the queen cups to attract as many nurse bees as possible [30:38], [32:42].
4. Finishing and Fertilization
Incubator Placement: At 5 days (once the cells are capped), Jean-Pierre places the cells in the incubator to ensure the completion of development [32:48].
Introduction into nuclei (NUC): On the 10th or 11th day, introduce the queen cells into small mating nuclei (Mini-Plus type) [32:56].
Verification: Once the queen has emerged and been mated (check for egg-laying), mark her to facilitate her future identification [34:21].