Right. So. Queen rearing.
If you’d asked me six months ago what I thought about raising my own queens, I would have laughed nervously and changed the subject. We’re still trying to keep our single colony alive through winter, and here we are taking notes at a lecture about breeding bees. Classic overachievers, us.
But here’s the thing: we went to Jack Silberrad’s presentation at the Ulster Beekeepers Association 2026 Conference, and he made queen rearing sound… actually achievable? Like something real beekeepers do, not just wizards in white suits who speak in Latin bee names.
So I’m documenting everything I learned – partly for future reference (when we’re brave enough to try this), partly because writing things down helps me understand them, and partly because if I got completely confused about something, one of you lovely experienced beekeepers will correct me in the comments.
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First Things First: Why Would Anyone Want to Raise Queens?
Good question. I asked myself the same thing. Can’t we just… let the bees do their thing?
Well, yes and no. Here’s what I gathered from Jack’s talk:
You might want to raise queens if you want to:
- Control the genetics of your bees (breed from your best-performing colonies)
- Requeen colonies without buying expensive mated queens
- Make splits and increase your colony numbers
- Manage swarming more effectively
Right. So there are actual practical reasons. Not just “because it sounds cool” (though let’s be honest, it does sound pretty cool).
The Bit About Testing Your Bees First
Before you even think about raising queens, Jack emphasized that you need to know if your colony has good genetics worth passing on. This is where the “Pin Killed Brood Assay” comes in.
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Basically, you kill a patch of capped brood with a pin (I know, sounds brutal), then see how quickly your bees clean it out. Good hygienic behaviour means they’re better at dealing with diseases and varroa mites.
Jack showed results from five test colonies with wonderfully descriptive names: Sticky, Stingy, Stinky, Scary, and… Sh*tty. (I love that beekeepers have a sense of humor about these things.)
The key numbers to remember:
- 40% brood removal = your bees can stabilize the mite population
- Below 20% = not really helping with mites
- Above 40% = actually knocking mites down
So if you’re going to breed queens, you want to work with a colony that scores well. No point multiplying bees with poor housekeeping skills, right?
The Methods: From “I Could Maybe Try This” to “Absolutely Not Yet”
Jack walked us through several different queen rearing methods, and I’m going to be honest – they range from “intimidating but doable” to “yeah, that’s definitely Year Five stuff.”
The Hopkins Method: Basic as It Comes
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This is the one that made me think, “Okay, maybe this isn’t completely impossible.”
Here’s how it works: You get a frame with very young larvae (one day old), poke holes in some of the cells (the “pepper pot” technique – brilliant name), then put the frame upside-down in a queenless colony. The bees panic because they have no queen, see these damaged cells with young larvae, and think “EMERGENCY! BUILD QUEEN CELLS!”
It’s basically tricking your bees into thinking they need to make emergency queens. Sneaky, but apparently it works.
Once they’ve started building the queen cells, you can even put the original queen back, and the colony will finish raising the queens for you. Then you harvest the sealed queen cells and use them for making splits or requeening.
The Cloake Board Method: Getting Fancy
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This is where it gets more technical (and expensive – you need special equipment).
A Cloake Board is basically a special hive floor with sliding doors. You use it to temporarily separate your hive into two sections – the top part thinks it’s queenless (and starts making queen cells), while the queen is safe and happy in the bottom section.
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The diagram Jack showed made my brain hurt a little – you’re managing two entrances, moving brood around, timing everything just right. But the clever bit is that once the queen cells are started, you can reconnect the hive and the whole colony works together to finish raising the queens.
Would I try this tomorrow? Absolutely not. Would I maybe consider it in a few years when I actually know what I’m doing? Maybe. Ask me again when I can successfully overwinter a colony.
The Karl Jenter Method: No Grafting Required
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This method caught my attention because Jack mentioned you don’t have to do grafting (moving tiny larvae with a tiny tool while not squishing them – yeah, that sounds stressful).
Instead, you use a special cage system where you trap the queen for 24 hours so she lays eggs in specific cells. Then you select the best one-day-old larvae and transfer the whole plug (cell and all) to your queen cell frame.
It sounds fiddly, but less fiddly than trying to scoop microscopic larvae onto a cell cup without killing them. So there’s that.
The Fascinating Historical Bit
Before diving into all the technical methods, Jack shared some genuinely cool historical context that I wasn’t expecting at a beekeeping lecture.
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Did you know honey bees evolved from WASPS? 74-146 million years ago. Which honestly explains so much about why they can be a bit stabby sometimes. They’re reformed wasps who discovered the joy of making honey instead of just being terrifying.
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And humans have been obsessed with bees for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians kept them. Hindu deities were called “the nectar-born ones.” There’s even a quote on the Golden Syrup tin: “Out of strength came forth sweetness.”
That last one genuinely feels like it should be the official motto of beekeeping. Possibly tattooed on every beekeeper’s arm.
The New Zealand Connection
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Jack shared his experience working with 750 (yes, SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY) double-queen colonies in New Zealand, chasing the Manuka flow.
The seasonal comparison was fascinating – their beekeeping calendar is completely flipped from ours because Southern Hemisphere. So when we’re putting our bees to bed for winter in October, they’re gearing up for spring. When we’re doing spring inspections in March, they’re preparing for autumn.
Also, apparently running 750 colonies and doing queen rearing on an industrial scale is “an awful lot of fun.” Jack’s words, not mine. I’m over here just trying to keep one colony happy.
Mating Nucs: Where Baby Queens Grow Up
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So you’ve raised your queen cells. Brilliant. Now what?
This is where mating nucleus colonies come in. They’re basically tiny colonies where virgin queens can hatch, go on their mating flights, and start laying eggs before you introduce them to their forever homes.
Jack showed a setup with three separate sections, each with its own entrance. The clever bit is they can share workers through queen excluders while keeping the queens separate. It’s like a bee apartment building.
So… Are We Going to Try This?
Ha. No.
Not yet, anyway.
Look, I’m being completely honest here: we’re first-year beekeepers who are currently in the “please just survive winter” phase. Queen rearing is absolutely not on our immediate to-do list.
But (and this is a big but)… Jack made it sound achievable. Not easy, not something you do in your first year, but genuinely achievable for regular beekeepers who put in the time to learn properly.
That’s what I loved about this presentation. It wasn’t some mystical art that only beekeeping wizards could master. It was practical, systematic, and broken down into methods that ranged from “relatively simple” to “okay that’s quite advanced but still doable.”
So am I documenting all of this for future reference? Absolutely. Will I be attempting the Hopkins Method in three years’ time? Maybe. Will Bee Girl convince me to try it before I’m ready because she’s braver than I am? Probably.
The Key Takeaways
If you’re thinking about queen rearing someday (emphasis on someday), here’s what stuck with me:
- Test your bees first – No point breeding from colonies with poor genetics. The pin killed brood assay will tell you if your bees have good hygienic behaviour.
- Start simple – The Hopkins Method is the most beginner-friendly option. Don’t jump straight to the advanced stuff.
- You need equipment – Every method requires some specialized kit. Budget for this. It’s not just “use what you already have.”
- Timing matters – Queen rearing is seasonal work. You need strong colonies during the right time of year.
- This is not Year One stuff – Get comfortable with basic beekeeping first. Learn to read your bees, manage swarms, deal with varroa, get your colonies through winter. Then think about queen rearing.
- But it IS achievable – That’s the encouraging bit. This isn’t reserved for commercial beekeepers or people with decades of experience. Regular hobbyist beekeepers can absolutely do this. Just… not immediately.
Final Thoughts
I walked out of Jack Silberrad’s presentation feeling simultaneously inspired and completely overwhelmed. Which is basically the beekeeping experience in a nutshell, isn’t it?
Queen rearing sits firmly in the “future goals” category for Bee Happy Honey. Right now, we’re focused on getting our colony through winter, learning from every inspection, making mistakes (so many mistakes), and documenting everything for other beginners who are figuring this out alongside us.
But knowing that queen rearing is something we could eventually learn? That’s pretty exciting. It’s like having a really advanced beekeeping achievement unlocked on the horizon, waiting for us when we’re ready.
For now, these notes will live in our beekeeping folder alongside “Things We’ll Definitely Try Someday” and “Techniques That Sound Terrifying But Bee Girl Will Probably Talk Me Into Eventually.”
Have you tried queen rearing? Are we completely mad for even considering it? Let us know in the comments – we’d love to hear from beekeepers who’ve actually done this and lived to tell the tale.
Related: the Native Irish Honey Bee Society queen rearing talk and why the native Irish honey bee matters.
Mum & Bee Girl x
P.S. Massive thanks to Jack Silberrad for an absolutely brilliant presentation. If you ever get the chance to hear him speak, grab it. He makes complex beekeeping genuinely accessible.
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Want to learn more from Jack? You can reach him at [email protected]
Image Credits: All presentation slides courtesy of Jack Silberrad, UBKA 2026 Conference