Peter Edwards is a successful beekeeper and experienced queen rearer from Stratford - upon - Avon, keeping over 100 colonies of dark native type bees. He has kindly given me his method of raising a batch of queen cells as set out below.

There are elements of this method that are the same or similar to other methods and for the inexperienced queen rearer I think it would be advisable to stick to the instructions to avoid possible failure. R.P.

Peter Edwards's Method.

• Build strong colony on double brood. This could be a honey producing colony with supers on. For ease of description these will be called bottom box (A) and top box (B).
• Put Q/E between boxes and Q in bottom box (A) nine days before introducing larvae. On the day larvae are introduced, the top box (B) has all sealed brood.
• Remove bottom box (A) with Q to another site. If 3 or more feet away entrance direction doesn't matter. If close to the original stand face the entrance in the opposite direction, so the flying bees will go in (B).
• Remove a frame in (B) to make room for your frame of larvae. Frames can be rearranged so the gap is in the centre, surrounded by brood and pollen.
• Shake extra young bees (but not Q!) from box (A) into box (B).
• Replace any supers on box (B).
• Close both boxes.

You now have a very strong, totally queenless hive (B) on the original stand, that is bolstered by returning flying bees from (A).

• Leave a couple of hours, by which time they will be frantic and the bees will have clustered in the gap in (B).
• Give frame of larvae from your chosen method. The frame can be gently lowered into the gap without damaging the bees.
• Next day put colony back together with Q below Q/E in bottom box (A) and the box with the larvae (B) over the Q/E. Supers on top.
• Feed if no flow.

When the Q/Cs are distributed the colony can be returned to honey production by placing the Q/E above box (B).

Peter Edwards.

As of 09-04-2015 I have not used this method, although it seems very simple. I will make two comments:-

• If you are feeding, then it needs to have been started 4-5 days before the larvae are introduced, so the nurse bees are producing plenty of brood food.
• When the Q/Cs are removed from the top box there is unlikely to be much unsealed brood, putting the colony in the same position as when it was separated. I think you can run a second batch at that stage. You could raise combs of brood from the lower box when putting the boxes back together, so keeping the colony producing queens in consecutive batches.

R.P.

Page created 09/04/2015

Page updated 31/12/2022