The starter secures the acceptance of the grafted cups. It is the first step and determines how many cells are drawn at all.

What a starter must be

• Queenless: Without a queen the urge to draw cells arises
• Very crowded: Bees packed densely, more than normal
• Rich in young bees: Only they have functioning brood food glands
• Well fed, with pollen in the nest

Congestion is not a problem here but the point: it is precisely the condition that triggers cell building.

The difference from a cell builder

• Starter: Queenless, secures acceptance, used briefly
• Finisher: May be queenright, feeds the accepted cells onward

Combining both in one colony is possible, but separating them gives better and more uniform cells.

How to make one

• Bring together sealed brood frames and bees from strong colonies
• Remove the queen or keep her out of the unit
• Wait a few hours before the cups go in; a newly queenless colony is most receptive
• Feed

Where it goes wrong

• Too few bees — the cups are not accepted
• No pollen — the glands do not work
• Not feeding during a dearth
• Left queenless too long; the colony draws its own cells, which disrupts acceptance

After acceptance

The accepted cups usually move to the cell builder after one or two days, which feeds them onward.

Rotating

In continuous rearing, starters are used in rotation and restored between rounds with sealed brood. A colony kept queenless continuously becomes exhausted.