Queen rearing Nicot Kit

01 · WHAT YOU GET

The 4 components of the kit explained

NICOT cup (CNE3): the plastic receptacle where you deposit the larva during grafting. This is where nurse bees build the queen cell. Cup-bar block (CNE2): the piece that holds 30 cups in line — fits onto a frame and goes into the cell builder hive. Frame holder (CNE1): the base that fixes the block to the wooden frame. Round Rulo cage (CNE5): cylindrical cage placed over the sealed queen cell so that when the virgin queen emerges she stays protected until you introduce or mark her. 1 unit of each.

02 · METHOD

What the NICOT system (plastic cups) is for

In traditional queen rearing you graft larvae of less than 24 h with a Chinese grafting tool onto plastic cups (those in the kit). The full block with 30 cups is introduced into a queenless hive forced into 'queen-cell instinct' — the nurse bees build 30 potential queen cells. After 10-12 days, sealed cells are distributed to queenless nucs where the virgin queens will emerge. Compared to grafting without cups, the NICOT system allows higher acceptance rates (plastic cups mimic the natural shape of the queen cell) and indefinite reuse.

03 · BEFORE YOU BUY

The advanced amateur with 10-30 hives who wants to self-supply queens instead of buying them every year. With this kit you test the method at low cost — if it works and you like it, you scale up to the full NICOT system (CN0L with 110 cups, Hoffman frame holders, Nicot Rulo cages in 100-packs) or move to Karl Jenter (which avoids manual grafting). If you plan to do professional rearing from the start, better to buy the full system directly — this kit is for testing.