I’m very interested in locally raised queens. As many beekeepers say, “Beekeeping is local.” and I agree. A locally raised queen has a “leg up” in our environment compared to one bought and shipped from hundreds of miles away.
This is my first queen rearing attempt and these pictures are the result of my first grafting attempt. Grafting is taking recently laid eggs from a queen you really like (good layer, good hygene, good honey productions, etc.) and placing them in special cups which act as a starter for queen cells. The bees treat these queen cells as possible future queens and start feeding them lots of royal jelly (the bee’s version of super food) and start drawing each cup out with new wax.
For my first attempt at grafting, I’m pleased. It looked like 8 or 9 of 12 were accepted by the bees. We’ll find out for sure in a few days!!