Why Raise Your Own Queens
Beekeepers raise queens to replace failing queens, to make splits, to build up stock from colonies that performed well, and sometimes to avoid the cost and shipping of purchased queens. It is a skill that takes practice, and results vary a lot between beginners and experienced queen breeders. If you only need one queen quickly, buying a mated queen is often the simpler route.
How a Worker Larva Becomes a Queen
Queens and workers develop from the same kind of fertilized egg (see how a queen bee is born). The difference comes from how the larva is fed. A larva raised in a queen cell is fed royal jelly throughout its larval stage, while worker larvae are switched to a different diet after the first few days. Bees build specialized cells for this purpose; see queen cups and queen cells for how they look and when they appear.
The Timeline From Egg to Laying Queen
A commonly cited timeline is about 16 days from egg to emerged virgin queen. The virgin then needs time to mature, take mating flights and begin laying. Exact timing depends on weather and drone availability, so treat the following as a rough guide:
- Day 0: egg laid
- Around day 3: egg hatches into a larva
- Around day 8: queen cell is capped
- Around day 16: virgin queen emerges
- Roughly a week or two later: mating flights, followed by the start of egg laying
In practice, many beekeepers allow around three to four weeks from starting a cell to seeing eggs, and longer if the weather is poor.
Main Methods of Raising Queens
Splits With Emergency Queen Cells
The simplest approach is to make a split that is queenless and let the bees raise a queen from young larvae. This requires no special tools, but you have little control over the genetics or the age of the larva chosen.
Cell Punch and Similar Methods
Cell punch methods transfer young larvae or eggs along with their comb into a cell cup or holder without handling larvae individually. They are a middle step between a plain split and grafting.
Grafting
Grafting means moving very young larvae (generally under a day old) with a grafting tool into artificial queen cups, which are then placed in a queenless or specially prepared cell-building colony. It gives the most control and can produce many cells at once, but it needs good light, steady hands and practice.
Overcrowding and Swarm Cells
Some beekeepers crowd a colony to encourage swarm preparations and then use the swarm cells to start new colonies. This follows natural behavior but is less predictable, and it can result in swarming if not managed carefully.
Equipment and Conditions
Typical equipment includes a grafting tool or cell punch kit, queen cups and bars, and small mating hives such as nucs or a queen castle. Success also depends on having a strong, well-fed cell-building colony and plenty of mature drones in the area. Queen rearing is generally done in the active season when nectar and pollen are coming in and drones are flying.
Mating and the First Weeks
After emerging, a virgin queen takes mating flights and mates with multiple drones in the air. Beekeepers then confirm success by watching for eggs. Our guide on how to tell if a queen has mated covers what to look for, and the article on natural mating and instrumental insemination explains the two ways queens can be mated.
Common Problems
- Cells are not accepted by the cell builder, often due to weak colonies or a nectar dearth
- Virgin queens fail to return from mating flights
- Poor mating weather or few drones lead to poorly mated queens
- Queens fail to lay or lay only drone eggs
FAQ
Are bees easy to raise?
Keeping bees is manageable for beginners, but raising queens is a more advanced skill. It is common to have several partial failures while learning.
How long does it take to raise a queen bee?
Roughly 16 days from egg to emerged queen, plus time to mature, mate and start laying, so a few weeks overall.
How does a bee become a queen?
A young female larva is fed royal jelly in a queen cell throughout its development, which triggers development into a queen rather than a worker.
Can I start a colony with just a queen?
A queen alone cannot sustain a colony. She needs workers to feed her and care for brood, so queens are normally introduced to a colony or a nucleus colony with workers.