Breeding Material
Lexikon
Breeding material refers to the young larvae of a selected queen from which new queens are reared.
Breeding material refers to the young larvae of a selected queen from which new queens are reared. It is the starting material for any rearing.
It is usually obtained by grafting. Larvae no more than about a day and a half old are taken from the comb with a grafting tool or a marten-hair brush and placed into artificial queen cups. To ensure the larvae are the same age, the queen is temporarily confined to one comb and that comb is worked with a few days later.
There are alternatives to grafting. In the notching method, an arc-shaped cut is made in a comb used for brood for the first time, along whose lower edge the bees build their own queen cells. In plug-in systems such as the Jenter or Nicot method, the queen lays into prepared plastic cells, whose base, together with the larva, is later plugged into a queen cup.
Anyone without their own breeding material can obtain it. Several bee institutes and breeding associations supply breeding material from recognized mothers. During transport the larvae should stay within the colony or wrapped in moist cloths; they tolerate neither cold nor drying out.