FROSTY MEADOW

BEEKEEPING LOCALLY

🐝 Active Project — Spring 2026

CCBA Queen Rearing & Nuc Project

Frosty Meadow is partnering with the Chatham County Beekeepers Association to produce locally raised, naturally mated nucleus colonies headed by queens selected for gentleness, productivity. This page provides current project status and updates for participating members.

Project at a Glance

Round 1 — Batch 36 from mother queen B36 — 5 Member Yards

9
Queens in Process
5
Member Yards
B36
Mother Queen
Spring
2026
Season

Queen Lineage & Selection Criteria

All queens in this batch share the same mother and selection standards.

Batch 36 — Queen Details

  • Mother Queen: B36 — Frosty Meadow breeder queen
  • Source: CCBA Club Graft — Batch 36
  • Year Color: White (N designation)
  • Queen IDs: N1 through N9
  • Selection for: Gentleness, honey production
  • Mating: Open / naturally mated in member yards
  • Nuc Type: 5-frame deep nucleus colony with marked queen

Current Queen & Nuc Status

Updated as reports come in from member yards. Last updated: April 14, 2026.

Queen ID Nuc # Host Member Location Status Notes
N1 Nuc 1 Daniel Harnden Frosty Meadow Emerging Soon
N2 Nuc 2 Daniel Harnden Frosty Meadow Emerging Soon
N3 Nuc 3 Myra Halpin Member Yard Emerged Emerged April 15, 2026
N4 Nuc 4 Myra Halpin Member Yard Emerged Piping heard, emerged April 15, 2026
N5 Nuc 5 Valarie Pallatto Member Yard Emerged Can-opened 4/14/2026
N6 Nuc 6 Valarie Pallatto Member Yard Emerged Can-opened 4/14/2026
N7 Nuc 7 Lori Hawkins Member Yard Emerging Soon
N8 Nuc 8 Lori Hawkins Member Yard Emerging Soon
N9 Nuc 9 Phil Uptmor Member Yard Emerging Soon

Status key: Mating — queen on mating flights  |  Emerged — queen out of cell, not yet mated  |  Laying — confirmed eggs / brood  |  Nuc Ready — ready for sale  |  Issue — needs attention

🆕 From the Field

Congratulations to Valarie Pallatto on two beautifully can-opened queen cells!

A huge congratulations to Valarie Pallatto whose Nuc 5 and Nuc 6 queens were the first of the season to emerge! Both cells show the classic clean can-opener emergence — a perfectly chewed circular cap indicating a healthy, vigorous queen exiting on her own terms. Valarie is now watching for mating flights. Great work! 🁮

Valarie Pallatto Nuc 5 emerged queen cell

Nuc 5 — N5 Queen Cell

Emerged April 14, 2026. Clean can-opener cap — textbook emergence.

Valarie Pallatto Nuc 6 emerged queen cell

Nuc 6 — N6 Queen Cell

Emerged April 14, 2026. Second cell confirms strong acceptance in Valarie's yard.

Congratulations to Myra Halpin whose Nuc 3 and Nuc 4 queens have both emerged as of April 15th! Queen N4 was heard piping before she emerged — an exciting sign of a strong, assertive queen announcing herself from inside the cell. Piping is relatively rare to catch and suggests N4 may be an especially vigorous queen. Great work Myra! 🁮

🁮

Nuc 3 — N3 Queen Cell

Emerged April 15, 2026.

🆕

Nuc 4 — N4 Queen Cell

Piping heard before emergence — April 15, 2026.

Project Timeline

Key milestones from graft to sale for Batch 36.

✓ Completed
Queen Cell Grafting
Larvae grafted from mother queen B36 during CCBA club graft day. Batch 36 produced 11 viable queen cells.
Spring 2026
✓ Completed
Cell Building & Capping
Queen cells built up in cell builder colony, capped, and monitored through development.
Spring 2026
✓ Completed
Cells Distributed to Member Yards
Queen cells installed into 9 nucleus colonies across 5 member yards. Each host member received their nucs and care instructions.
Spring 2026
▶ In Progress
Queen Emergence & Mating
Queens emerge from cells, take orientation and mating flights over 1–2 weeks. Weather dependent. Members watching for queen sightings and early egg laying.
Current Phase
Upcoming
Confirmed Laying & Nuc Build-Up
Once eggs and young larvae are confirmed, queens are considered successfully mated. Nucs will build population over the following 3–4 weeks.
Coming Soon
Upcoming
Nuc Evaluation & Grading
Each nuc inspected and evaluated for population strength, temperament, brood pattern, and overall health before being cleared for sale.
Summer 2026
Upcoming
Nucs Available to CCBA Members
Approved nucs offered to CCBA members first. 5-frame deep colonies with marked, mated queen. Pickup arranged with host member or at Frosty Meadow.
Summer 2026

📄 Project Documents

Reference materials for the CCBA Queen Rearing and Nuc Project.

🍏
Cell Builder Rebuild Plan
Full Paul Kelly Cloake Board Method — Spring 2026

Questions & Updates

Project managed by Daniel Harnden at Frosty Meadow.

Contact the Project Manager

For questions about the queen rearing project, nuc availability, or to report an update from your yard, reach out to Daniel directly.

Farm: Frosty Meadow — 635 Frosty Meadow Drive, Pittsboro, NC 27312
Phone: (919) 619-7714
Email: daniel@frostymeadow.com
Club: Chatham County Beekeepers Association (CCBA)