Best way to introduce mated queen?

[prana vallabha]

I have a mated queen coming tuesday ,she will be put into a nuc that had a drone laying queen in by tuesday the nuc will have been queenless 3 days ... just wondered how more advanced beekeepers would do this ..........

many thanks in advance

 

[Finman]

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This is one of the best way to give a queen.
If bees do not bite the mesh after 24 hours, they have accepted the queen.
If they are in cluster against the mesh, they will kill the queen if you release it.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I'm assuming the queen comes from a local supplier? if so, it will come in a jz-bz cage with a bit of tape over the candy plug - put some mone tape over it (masking tape will do) as this year they seem to be chewing straight through the tape. put the cage in between two frames - of brood preferably, either just push the frames together on to the cage or suspend from a bit of wire.
Leave for three days, by that time they should be settled with the queen, go back in take off the tape and put the cage back in the same position, close up and leave for a week or two. Hopefully by then she will be laying nicely

 

[Alabamaeee]

I did this last year for the first time. Hardest bit was getting the attendants out and keeping the queen in the cage. I opened the cage in the shed so that they would go towards the closed window and I had a chance to catch her up again if she escaped. Sure enough she got out before I could get some of the attendants out so I picked her off the window and out her back in the cage.

The drama was that 5 days after I exposed the candy I took a quick look to make sure she had been released and she hadn't! She was surrounded by frantic workers who had been trying to release her. The candy was like concrete, the bees would never have got through it.

I had to open the cage bottom a little and as I placed it back on the top bars out she came.

Having read more about queen introduction some say it doesn't matter about leaving the attendants in the cage, but the breeder I got her from always removes them.

Good luck with getting her introduction. I phoned the local sorting office the day before she arrived and asked them to keep the envelope rather than have her bashed about in a posties mail bag for a few hours.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I forgot to say - I never bother trying to get the attendants out - seems to have worked for me.

 

[Walrus]

This is interesting by Dave Cushman:
http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/queenintro.html

I put the queen in a butler cage (wire mesh) without attendants & place length ways on a top bar, with space at the top created by a small eke. I have see through crown boards and have a look every 3 days or so until the bees are not crowding the cage, then untape the candy end or just let her go. If you can easily brush the bees off the cage with your finger they are ok, but if they hang on to the cage it is too early to release.

Last year one took about 12 days; she is happily going about her business today.

I started doing it this carefully/slowly because I have lost quite a few bought queens in the past by not being so careful.

Finmans way is supposed to be really good but I've not tried it. If the mesh is over emerging brood then they immediately accept her which helps.

 

[Hachi]

Finman what it the name of the device you have described please?

Thanks H

 

[Hivemaker.]

The JZ/BZ cages have a small bar at the end which can be removed to let the attendants out of the cage, but is queen includer size, which prevents the queen from escaping...for those that wish to remove them before introduction.

 

[Alabamaeee]

Google "queen introduction cage" and search on images. You will find plenty of plastic cages that are pressed in over sealed brood.

Several of the big beekeeping suppliers sell them.

 

[Finman]

Finman what it the name of the device you have described please?

Thanks H

It is push in cage

 

[Finman]

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I have gove up from sugar plug system 20 y ago because losses of queens were too much.

When colony makes emergency cells, it takes 5 days. The cells are capped, then the hive is very willing to accept all queens. So you may wait couple of days for capping.

 

[Jeff Buzz]

.
I have gove up from sugar plug system 20 y ago because losses of queens were too much.

When colony makes emergency cells, it takes 5 days. The cells are capped, then the hive is very willing to accept all queens. So you may wait couple of days for capping.

Do you then take the Q/C's out or let the new queen attend to them?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Finman what it the name of the device you have described please?
Thanks H

The plastic ones are called Nicot queen introduction cages - one of the smaller companies from Cornwall sell them, they come with little plastic pins to attach the cage to the comb, a tunnel for the candy (with a plastic lug over the end to stop the bees releasing her too early) and a little entrance hole with a cap over it to put the queen in

Do you then take the Q/C's out or let the new queen attend to them?

Clear the lot out - you don't want a virgin emerging and dealing with your caged queen - also some would argue that by leaving the QC's the bees get geared up to having a virgin queen and you will struggle to get your mated one accepted