The queen bee is the single most significant individual in a honeybee colony, responsible for producing tens of thousands of workers and drones. Her presence, signaled by powerful pheromones, maintains the colony’s cohesion and regulates nearly all hive activities. Beekeepers actively rear queens to replace aging or failing monarchs, prevent swarming, and improve the genetic quality of their stock. Controlled queen production is a foundational skill in apiculture, allowing for the propagation of desirable traits like gentleness, high productivity, and disease resistance. Raising new queens ensures colony health and supports the overall management and growth of an apiary.
The Biology of Queen Creation
All female honeybee larvae, which develop from fertilized eggs, possess the genetic potential to become either a worker or a queen. This differentiation is determined by nutrition, an example of epigenetic control, not genetics. For the first few days after hatching, all larvae are fed royal jelly, a protein-rich secretion produced by the hypopharyngeal glands of young nurse bees. The key biological switch occurs when a larva destined to be a worker is transitioned to a diet of beebread (pollen and honey) approximately three days after hatching.
A queen-destined larva continues to be fed royal jelly exclusively throughout its entire larval development. This specialized, nutrient-dense diet activates a molecular cascade that results in the development of fully functional ovaries and a larger body size. To ensure the highest quality queens, a beekeeper must select larvae less than 36 hours old, ideally appearing as a tiny, comma-shaped speck floating in its initial bed of jelly. Larvae older than three days cannot fully develop the reproductive capacity required of a functional queen.
Preparation: Selecting Stock and Cell Builders
The process begins with the selection of the “breeder queen.” This mother colony must exhibit the specific traits a beekeeper wishes to propagate, such as a gentle temperament on the comb, a reduced tendency to swarm, and resistance to common pests like Varroa mites. A strong, consistent egg-laying pattern and a high honey production rate are also primary selection criteria.
Before the larvae transfer, a host colony, known as the “cell builder,” must be prepared to accept and nourish the new queen cells. This colony is purposely made queenless, generating an “emergency impulse” that drives worker bees to raise new queens immediately. The cell builder must be heavily populated with young nurse bees, as this caste produces the large volume of royal jelly necessary to feed the developing queens.
The colony should be well-provisioned with honey and pollen stores, often supplemented with sugar syrup and pollen patties. This abundance of resources ensures the nurse bees can provide the rich diet required for the larvae to develop into high-quality queens. The ideal time for queen rearing is typically in the late spring or early summer, coinciding with a natural pollen flow and favorable weather conditions.
The Grafting Method
Grafting is the most widely used method, involving the manual transfer of the selected larva from its natural cell into an artificial queen cup. Essential tools include a frame equipped with cell bars to hold the queen cups and a specialized grafting tool with a fine, flexible tip. The working environment must be warm, humid, and free of drafts to prevent the delicate larva from drying out or chilling during the brief transfer.
The process begins by carefully selecting the youngest larvae, visible as a small white curve at the base of the worker cell. Using the grafting tool, the beekeeper gently slides the tip under the larva and the small pool of royal jelly beneath it, scooping both out in a single, fluid motion. The larva is then deposited into the base of a pre-moistened queen cup, typically made of plastic or wax.
To improve acceptance rates, some beekeepers “prime” the queen cups with a tiny drop of diluted royal jelly or water before the larva is placed inside. Once a bar is filled with grafted larvae, the frame is immediately placed into the center of the prepared, queenless cell builder colony. After 24 hours, the beekeeper checks the cells for “acceptance,” confirming that the nurse bees have begun to draw out the wax cell walls and feed the transferred larvae. The cells are then left in the finisher colony to be fed and sealed, which occurs about five days after grafting.
Alternative Rearing Techniques
For beekeepers who prefer to avoid manual grafting, several alternative systems are available. The Jenter and Nicot systems are popular graft-free methods that utilize a plastic cassette placed inside the brood nest. The queen is temporarily confined within this cassette, where she lays eggs directly into a grid of removable plastic cell cups.
Once the eggs hatch, the beekeeper removes the entire cell cup, now containing the larva, without having to touch the insect. This technique significantly reduces the risk of larval damage and increases the acceptance rate by the nurse bees. Another low-intervention method is the Miller technique, which involves cutting a zigzag pattern into a frame of new comb. When this comb is placed in a queenless colony, the bees utilize the exposed edges of the cells to draw out emergency queen cells, eliminating the need for purchased equipment or larval transfer.
Mating and Introduction
Once the queen cells are capped, they must be kept warm and handled with care to prevent damage to the developing pupa inside. Around 10 days after grafting, the mature queen cell is ready to be moved into a mating nucleus, or “mating nuc.” This miniature colony is stocked with young nurse bees and food stores to support the new queen.
The virgin queen will emerge from her cell about 16 days after the egg was laid. After a few days of maturation, she takes orientation flights to memorize the location of her new home. She then embarks on multiple mating flights, flying to a Drone Congregation Area (DCA) where she mates with an average of 12 to 20 drones in mid-air. This polyandry ensures the genetic diversity of the colony she will head.
The newly mated queen begins laying eggs approximately 10 days after her emergence. If she is to be introduced into a larger production colony, the old queen must first be removed, and the colony must be left queenless for at least 24 hours. The new queen is typically introduced in a small cage that workers must chew through, often plugged with a candy fondant. This gradual release allows her pheromones to permeate the hive, increasing the likelihood of her safe acceptance by the resident bees.