The period from grafting to emergence is the most fragile stage of queen rearing. Mistakes made here cannot be undone.

The critical intervals

• About eight days after grafting: The cell is capped
• About twelve days after grafting: The queen emerges

The window between those two dates is when cells must be distributed.

Temperature

A developing queen is highly sensitive to temperature. Even brief chilling disrupts development and produces a poor queen.

• Do not leave cells out for long in cool weather
• Use an insulated container when carrying them
• Keep inspections short

Jarring

The pupa in a sealed cell is particularly sensitive to being shaken. A sharp knock or inversion does lasting damage.

• Carry cells upright; do not lay them down
• Do not shake or drop them
• Secure them when transporting by vehicle

When to distribute

Cells must go to mating nuclei before the queens emerge.

If this is left too late the first queen to emerge tears open the others and destroys them; a whole batch can be lost to a single day's delay.

This is why the grafting date must be written down.

Protection cages

Cages fitted over the cells prevent an early-emerging queen from reaching the others.

They give flexibility in timing, but must not restrict the feeding of the cell.

Assessing quality

Capped cells can be judged roughly by appearance:

• A good cell: Long, well formed, thick walled, with a well worked surface
• A poor cell: Short, thin walled, wrinkled

Poor cells should be discarded; producing a poor queen is worse than producing none.

Incubation

Cells can also be held in a controlled-temperature incubator, which adds flexibility in distribution. Temperature and humidity control must be exact.