a few queen thoughts/questions

[bjosephd]

Morning all…

A few queen related yet disconnected wonderings.

When you introduce a queen to a colony using the push cage method I've seen Michael Palmer use, since there are no ready primed attendant bees to feed her, will the colony accept her quick enough to feed her through the mesh before she starves?.. and can the push cage method also be used to introduce a virgin queen? How many days do you keep the queen caged? (different for virgins or mated?)

Also, if you put a row of mounted plastic queen cups in a hive that doesn't want to swarm, will they basically be ignored?

I wonder if it is therefore always worth having a row of cups halfway down a brood frame (maybe with the top half with a row of super foundation) in the hive at all times.

Maybe not 100% but I imagine then that checking that row of queen cups during each inspection might therefore be a good signifier at least of swarming intentions (maybe the first frame you check)… and if so, then you have some easily placed, easier transferable queen cells all ready for use as a kind of opportunist queen rearing program?

I know that the bees will hide queen cells elsewhere, and of course potentially ignore your plastic cups in favour of their own real ones…

...but, the main question is, will they basically ignore them until swarming intentions start to brew, and not until then will they be charged?

As a reminder…!
Q1 = push cage introduction
Q2 = plastic queen cup presence

Thanks!

BJD

 

[B+.]

since there are no ready primed attendant bees to feed her, will the colony accept her quick enough to feed her through the mesh before she starves?.. and can the push cage method also be used to introduce a virgin queen? How many days do you keep the queen caged? (different for virgins or mated?)

I usually position the cage over emerging brood/empty cells and open nectar so the queen can feed herself if the bees are being a bit boisterous she can also come to the bars to solicit food and her pheremones will be distributed throughout the colony. They should then calm down.
If she has come through the post, she may have gone off lay but she usually starts laying again quite soon. I would leave her in the cage for 3 days although the recommendation can be as long as 9 so she has her own sealed brood (if they haven't tunnelled under the bars to release her by then). This usually guarantees successful introduction unless there is another queen running around in the hive.
A virgin queen is a different matter because she needs to be able to fly to mate. I don't know about others, but, I wouldn't use a push in cage for a virgin. I also wouldn't introduce a virgin into a large colony which, I think, is what you are suggesting. A virgin is best introduced into a mating nuc until she is mated and laying. Then I would treat her as a mated queen as described above.
Your idea of using plastic cups as a means of signalling swarming intentions would be unreliable because they may use other larvae and ignore the plastic cups. If you watch Mikes queen rearing presentation at the NHS, he explains that supercedure cells are usually on the face of the comb and swarm cells around the periphery. Placing plastic cups in a line on the face of the comb would not, therefore, acheive the desired aim.

 

[bjosephd]

Cool thanks B+

I was thinking having downward facing queen cups… so a bar half or 2/3rds the way down a frame.

Not cups on the face of a comb.