Learning Stuff

[Kris^]

Today I took another step in my attempt to raise queens -- transferring 1 day old larvae from the parent hive to the cell starter.  I'm using the Miller method, and went to cut the comb out to get the larvae near the cut edge.  I saw lots of eggs laying over (2 and 3 day eggs?) on the new comb, but couldn't find young larvae.  I only saw a bunch of cells with no eggs but a milky-white fluid in the bottom.  Figuring those were larvae in jelly, I targeted them as what I wanted, then put the frame where it belongs.  I later took a darning needle and poked around in some of the milky cells that I'd cut off with the egg cells.  Lo and behold, I found the littlest of worm in each one!  They are small, not larger than size of an egg, and blend with the jelly too well for me to see clearly.  Even with my reading glasses on.

I don't know how someone grafting these things can see this what they're doing.

-- Kris

[TwT]

it east when you got better than 20/20 vision, you can see ripples in the royal jelly, that's the larva, one day I want be able to see this but I'm enjoying it while I can      

[Michael Bush]

>I don't know how someone grafting these things can see this what they're doing.

Those really are the best age to transfer but you have to do it very gently and if you can't see them you really can't do it.  In only a few more hours they will be big enough you can see them and still not too old to transfer.  If you're doing the Miller method you don't need to transfer them.  You jsut cut the bottom edge of the comb and put that in the cell starter.

I use a Jenter box because I don't have to see them.  I only want to see some royal jelly in the bottom and I'm happy to transfer them and that's very easy to see when you're looking at the bottom of the cell without the walls (after you pull the plug out of the back).