Grafting Tool (Chinese Style)

This is the most popular queen grafting tool on the market, and is preferred by both hobbyists and commercial queen breeders. The tool has a flexible head that easily slides under the larvae and royal jelly to scoop it out of the cell. It is spring loaded to delicately remove the larvae and place it safely into the cell cup. The tool is 4.5" long.

Application: In queen rearing, a queen grafting tool is used to remove the queen larvae and royal jelly from  a queen cell within a hive and to transfer it to a queen cell cup.

This "Chinese" style of grafting tool is much easier and faster to use than the metal hook-type tools. With the hook-type tools, you have to scoop the larvae up without damaging it, which means being able to see it. It is a difficult skill to master, partly because larvae are very hard to see with the naked eye.

With the Chinese queen grafting tool, you can just barely touch the larvae without needing to see it until it is brought out of the cell. It works very similarly to a retractable ball point pen. It has a plastic, non-slip middle section with a plastic push button spring loaded at the top. The “tongue” of the tool is made from a small, very thin and flexible piece of plastic. This tongue is the part that scoops up the larvae and royal jelly. Once the larvae is on the tongue, push the button on the top and the larvae and royal jelly will slide off the tip and into your queen cell cup. Be sure to replace the cap after use to protect the tip. 

Each tool measures 4.5" long.