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Until "ripe" the queen is very vulnerable to bumps etc. so we usually wait until day 10 after grafting, she should then have emerged in 3-4 days. You can insert them earlier and success is good if you keep them warm and handle very carefully - and one can learn that skill. My experience with...

Protection is to keep the other queen from the sides of the cell, they are inhibited from having a go at the opening of the cell. Aluminium foil wrapped as you like, a bit of 18mm polyprop tubing cut to length so the queen is safe and can get out, or a plastic protector which can be bought. The...

I am a bit confused. Is this a hive with laying workers, or a drone laying queen ? Quite different interventions. Thanks.

Yes, the QE reduces the amount of pheromones so the workers make an emergency cell in the supers from available eggs. I have only seen this when an unusual restructure occurs, such as setting up during queen rearing.

So that would suggest that the mated queen herself is influencing mood, which one might expect. In the case of a cell, sometimes the same effect can be seen I.e. almost immediate, so the now dead laying queen contributed to the mood. What would you think ?

Probably closer to 8 weeks as workers from already laid eggs still to develop and emerge. Are the bees already more settled ?

jbm, it must be in my genes. I prefer to get an assassin to dispose of the queen and do whatever is necessary after that ... And use a mated queen when there is a good reason.

Hmmm, using protected ripe queen cell on 2/6/15 would have by now resulted in demise of old the queen, new queen mated, possibly laying but most likely within a fortnight, all nasty bees gone in about 7 weeks, probably nice bees replacing them, all for a few quid and low anxiety, easy beekeeping ...

A cause can be some brood above the QE - the bees sit tight - and once I found a queen who they would not leave. Its a long story ... If sophisticated methods don't work, I just go one frame at a time, use a good shake and a brush, no great deal for 2 honey boxes, and a couple of hive mats and...

Do many clubs teach grafting etc. and make queen cells available to members ? Or do many bk's let the bees make their own queens from a frame with eggs if the hive is queenless ? From a nice hive, or course ...

As a matter of interest, what would the prices be ? Thanks.

Hi, Do your queen breeders make queen cells available ?

Good question - the queen does not usually mate with drones from her hive, and my experience is that queen cells from breeders of gentle queens transform the whole worker population back to gentle bees after 9 weeks. I gather that the genetics is quite complicated, so the heterogeneity of the...

Just shake bees out in front of hive, they will gain entry with a bribe, and reinsert the beeless frame straight away, nurse bees will care for the brood.

May I suggest: Remember to use protected, ripe queen cell method, the virgin queen does all the regicide stuff, neatly, quickly and deadly.

No, just use a protected queen cell as I stated above, and the virgin queen will find the older queen and kill her. Just nature taking its course.

I am so amazed by how difficult it all is ! Here I just pop a protected ripe queen cell into the brood box (can give details if anyone wants), and then leave the bees to do the following as they have been doing this stuff for some while. Steps along the way: Check cell after 4-5 days that she...

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Jbm your post 11 is quite wrong, so how can my approach be regarded as anything but usual beekeeping. Do you understand the principle of a protected queen cell from a breeder of good queens ? And a vq being ignored by bees until she is mated ? :)

Requeening with protected cells is standard, bees don't react to the virgin queen who kills the incumbent, vq gets mated and takes over. Quite different from sorting out laying workers.