Non-grafting systems allow queens to be reared without transferring larvae with a tool. The larva is never touched directly.

The principle

The queen is confined in a box fitted with removable plastic cell bases and lays into them.

When the larvae reach the right age, the cell base containing each one is detached and fitted to a cell bar. The larva has been moved without being handled.

Advantages

• No skill required. Transferring with a tool takes practice; this step disappears
• The larva is not damaged. There is no risk of turning it over
• Less need for light and magnification
• The larval age is known exactly. The day the queen laid is recorded

Limits

• The queen must be confined. Stress for both queen and colony
• The equipment costs more
• Slower at scale. Experienced producers return to conventional grafting
• Acceptance problem: If the box is not put in beforehand the queen will not lay in it

The sequence

• Place the box in advance. It goes into the brood chamber several days before use, so the bees clean and adopt it
• Confine the queen. The grid cover is closed for about a day
• Release the queen. The eggs remain in the box
• Wait for the right larval age. About four days after laying
• Transfer the cell bases to holders and a cell bar
• Give them to the starter colony

The commonest mistake

Fitting the box and confining the queen immediately. A queen will not lay in a box the bees have not adopted, and the process starts again.

The few days of preparation are a required part of the method.

Timing

If the larva grows too old the resulting queen is of poor quality; ovary development is incomplete. A day's delay markedly lowers the result.

The laying date must therefore be written down.

Care

Plastic parts hold smells. The box must be stored clean, kept away from chemicals and left free of detergent residue.