Crazy, aggressive bees - what to do?

[Zaak OConan]

I understood perfectly

Doubtful you do.
All the foragers (the most aggressive bees in the colony) will return to a box minus their 'own' queen and with alien nurse bees, brood and queen.
Bad bad move

I would think the pheromones from the new queen, the brood, and the nurse bees would win the returning foragers over quickly.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I would think the pheromones from the new queen, the brood, and the nurse bees would win the returning foragers over quickly.

Even if she is not yet laying?

 

[Zaak OConan]

I was assuming a laying queen in the nuke.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I think we were talking about making a nuc up letting the queen lay well, killing the old one and uniting the colonies.

 

[Lolly Bee]

Thank you everyone for your advice/responses/agreements/disagreements (gotta love beekeepers!). I can’t get my head around euthanising so am going to take their honey, leave them to overwinter and then kill the queen next year when the hive doesn’t have as many bees in it and replace with one from one of my lovely hives. Of course it may not work but after reading everything here and getting advice from my local BKA it seems the simplest and kindest method.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I would think the pheromones from the new queen, the brood, and the nurse bees would win the returning foragers over quickly.

you can 'think' all you like - but, from experience, it is seldom the case

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I was assuming a laying queen in the nuke.

the 'method' discussed in this particular case was just dumping an introduced queen, in a cage, in a nuc with some brood and waiting for a load of aggressive foragers to return to a site where, when they left had their colony and queen but has suddenly vanished

 

[ericbeaumont]

kill the queen next year when the hive doesn’t have as many bees in it and replace with one from one of my lovely hives

Easiest is to kill the queen and unite immediately with newspaper to a better colony.

Once that is strong and the defensive genetics are gone, you could split and let them make a queen. Do it early in the season before drone production.

 

[enrico]

Would love an update on this one