A finisher colony feeds accepted queen cells until they are capped. Much of a queen's quality is determined at this stage.

The difference from a starter

A starter colony's job is to get the larvae accepted, and for that it must be queenless. A finisher's job is to feed what has been accepted.

That distinction matters: feeding does not require queenlessness. A finisher can be queenright, which wears the colony down far less.

The queenright finisher

The queen is kept in a separate compartment behind an excluder. The cells are placed in the compartment without her.

The gains:

• The colony works in its normal order and does not deteriorate
• It can be used continuously through a long season
• The tendency to build wild queen cells is reduced

What it needs to be

• Populous and strong
• Rich in young bees; bees with working brood food glands are required
• Well supplied with pollen and nectar; fed continuously if there is no flow
• Healthy; a diseased colony does not produce quality queens

Placing the cells

The bar goes near the brood area, in the warm zone. Open brood on both sides improves the quality of feeding.

Cells must not be chilled while being carried; cooling directly lowers quality.

Capacity

The number of cells a colony can feed is limited. Beyond that capacity all of them are poorly fed.

A few well-fed cells are worth more than many poorly fed ones.

Care

• Add sealed brood; the supply of young bees must be renewed
• Give protein support
• Remove wild queen cells
• Rotate; do not push the same colony all season

Timing

Cells are capped about eight days after grafting and the queens emerge about twelve days after grafting.

Cells must be distributed to mating nuclei before the queens emerge; the first to emerge destroys the rest.