Queen Cell Development and Queen Rearing#
1 . What is the developmental timing for queens, workers and drones?
Queen - 16 days
Worker - 21 days
Drone - 24 days
2 . What is the time frame for an egg, larvae, pupae and adult worker, queen and drone bee?
Queen – egg 3, larvae 5, pupae 8 days
Worker – egg 3, larvae 6, pupae 12 days
Drone – egg 3, larvae 7, pupae 14 days
The last stage before the cell is capped is called a pre-pupa.
3 . Why is it important to have numerous young worker bees when queens are being reared?
The larvae need to be fed royal jelly constantly which younger bees are better at producing.
4 . When raising your own queens, why is it important to graft the youngest larvae possible?
To begin feeding royal jelly at the earliest possible time to produce the best queens.
5 . Why raise you own queens?
Have replacement queens ready to requeen colonies (replacement queens for purchase may not be available when you need them).
Breed for specific trait/s.
Produce a top-quality queen
To save money (buying new queens is costly)
You can raise your own for free (splits, etc.) or by grafting.
Learn a new skill or start a business