08/05/2026
First go at grafting our own queens and I’m buzzing with the result…8 out of 10 grafts accepted 👑🐝
For anyone wondering, grafting is where we carefully transfer tiny larvae from one of our best colonies into special queen cups so the bees can raise them as new queens. We do it so we can breed from colonies that show the traits we want to keep strong temperaments, good honey production, healthy brood patterns and bees that overwinter well.
It’s a pretty delicate job and seeing the bees take to 8 out of the 10 grafts feels like a massive win for our first attempt.
Next steps are letting the queen cells develop, moving them into nucs at the right time and then hopefully getting some well mated queens laying strongly over the coming weeks. Plenty can still happen from here, but it’s a really exciting stage in the process.
Definitely one of those moments that reminds you how fascinating beekeeping really is 🐝
