Queen Rearing Methods (Rated)

1. The Quimby Method

   a. Cut swarm cells from a colony preparing to swarm and place into a queenless colony.

   b. You can only cut WAX foundation

   c. It is even easier to just move any frame you find with queen cells into a queenless Nuc or full-size colony.

   d. In either case, you may lose a swarm and the old queen.

   e. The Quimby Method will make the best queens because the egg was always intended to become a queen.

 

2. The Nicot Method

   a. A plastic cell grid with removable cups. (Sold online)

   b. Place into a hive for the nurse bees to clean and prepare for eggs.

   c. Place the queen into the box over the cups and allow her to lay eggs.

   d. When Royal Jelly is visible in the back of a cup, remove it and place it into a queenless cell builder colony.

   e. It can be difficult to get the queen to lay any eggs in these cups.

   f. It has been reported that after the queen is released back to the hive, she is often superseded.

   g. Once the cell is capped, it can be moved to a queenless mating Nuc or a hive.

   h. With the Nicot Method, all eggs laid into the cups can become queens, so neither the bees or the beekeeper chooses which egg or larva will become a queen, but the larvae are never handled. These would be the second-best Queens.

 

3. The Miller Method

   a. Cut 4 or 5 deep “V”s 2 or 3 inches from the top bar of WAXFoundation and place into a hive.

   b. After the Queen lays eggs near the edges of the foundation, move the frame into a queenless cell builder colony (you may have to cut some foundation to get eggs on the edge.

   c. Once queen cells are capped, move them into a cell finisher colony.

   d. Queen cells can easily be cut from the edges of the foundation and carefully pushed into the comb of a mating Nuc.

   e. With the Miller Method, the nurse bees promote the eggs along the edge of the “V” because they can be made to face down as queen cells. This method is tied for third best queens.

 

4. The Alley Method

   a. Like the Miller Method

   b. Place a frame of WAX foundation into a hive.

   c. After the queen lays eggs on this frame, cut the comb into strips and place each strip into a queenless cell builder colony.

   d. With the Alley Method, the nurse bees choose which eggs or larvae to promote. This method is tied for third best queens.

 

5. The Hopkins Method

   a. Place WAX foundation into a hive to get the bees to start to draw comb.

   b. May need to use a full frame queen cage to get the queen to lay eggs of a known age on this frame.

   c. Three days after first eggs are laid, remove from the cage and lay the frame horizontal on top of the brood area of a queenless cell builder colony.

   d. Nurse bees will draw out queen cells because the cells face down.

   e. Use a cell cutter or sharp knife to cut queen cells and place into mating Nucs.

   f. With the Hopkins Method, the nurse bees choose which eggs or larvae to promote. This method is tied for third best queens.
 

6. A Walk Away Split

   a. Easiest method!

   b. Move half of the frames of brood into another hive.

   c. It does not matter which hive has the queen; the other box will make an emergency queen.

   d. With a Walk away split, the nurse bees choose which eggs or larvae to promote. This method is tied for third best queens.

 

7. The Doolittle Method (Grafting) 

   a. Select 1-day old larvae and lift out with a tool or paint brush, place into a JZsBZs queen cup. Place cups on a bar into a queenless cell builder colony.

   b. Once cells are capped, move to a cell finisher then move each into a mating Nuc or day 10 or 11.

   c. Not easy to see 1-day old larvae and hard to lift without damaging the larva. 

   d. With the Doolittle Method, the grafter chooses the 1-day old eggs to move into cups, so the choice was not made by a bee. It makes the most queens, but the lowest quality.