The rain finally let up just in time for us to begin grafting again—because when it’s time to graft, we graft. The queen’s calendar doesn’t wait for better weather.
After a few months off, it’s amazing how quickly the rhythm returns. Grafting is truly like riding a bike. Still, it always humbles me how small and delicate 24-hour-old larvae are. Their positioning in the queen cell is critical; a slight misorientation can cause the larvae to drown in royal jelly or fail to develop properly. With so many new team members observing grafting for the first time, it’s become something of a spectacle—but when the frame comes out of the hive, all questions pause. Our first priority is keeping those larvae viable.
This season, we’re using a new mother colony—an overwintered hive from one of our apiaries. Introducing new genetics is essential to preventing bottlenecks and maintaining colony health across our research network. Fortunately, this queen is laying beautifully, and the hive is strong. We had no shortage of graftable frames to choose from, which is always a great sign.
Given the slow start to the season and the modest size of our cell raiser, we’re starting with a small graft of 25. We’ll scale up as the weather improves and the colony gains strength. In the next day or two, we’ll return to check for cell development.
Here’s to a strong and productive queen rearing season ahead!
