Efficient requeening / Easy queen replacement

[Finman]

The largest beefarmer in the UK , Murray McGregor

Those 1000 hive owners have their own tricks. They are not meant to 2 hive owner.

 

[jeff33]

Next day you take the new queen from mating nuc and give it to the colony.

By which time they will have started making EQcs and will kill your new queen on release.

 

[Finman]

By which time they will have started making EQcs and will kill your new queen on release.

Of course they have started, but they will not kill the new queen. If they kill, you have not select a proper time to introduced the queen.

Normally the new queen destroys the queen cells.

If the mated queen has layed under 2 weeks in the mating nuc, 30% put of queens will be replaced with hive's own emergency queens. 1) But if the queen has layed 4 weeks, it is very rare that it is replaced.

But you should inspect the situation, do they kill the queen cells.


That is my style....

But if it is August in my country, and there is no food in flowers, it is 80% propability, that bees do not accept a new queen. So I change them during winter food feeding.

1) Australian research

 

[Finman]

By which time they will have started making EQcs and will kill your new queen on release.

During bad weathers hives like to rear their own queens, but when bees have capped their own queen cells, they accept very easily the new queen.

When you put the new queen under the push in cage, it id easy to see next day, are they going to accept the queen.

 

[elainemary]

Of course they have started, but they will not kill the new queen. If they kill, you have not select a proper time to introduced the queen.

Normally the new queen destroys the queen cells.

If the mated queen has layed under 2 weeks in the mating nuc, 30% put of queens will be replaced with hive's own emergency queens. 1) But if the queen has layed 4 weeks, it is very rare that it is replaced.

But you should inspect the situation, do they kill the queen cells.


That is my style....

But if it is August in my country, and there is no food in flowers, it is 80% propability, that bees do not accept a new queen. So I change them during winter food feeding.

1) Australian research

Not only the Australian research, Brother Adam too wrote a manuscript on introducing queens and he stated for best success a new queen needed to be laying for 4 weeks - to achieve maturity and acceptance. He went on to say the best way for full acceptance is to over wintering new queens in Nucs then introduce early the following season. Alternatively early October in the year she’s born. Guess we want quicker results but if we planned this way success would be good

 

[Bazzer]

Those 1000 hive owners have their own tricks. They are not meant to 2 hive owner.

The OP says they have 30 hives so requeening then does become more of an undertaking. Useful point of the vertical split and late season recombine is that it uses less space and if the new queen is a failure you can just remove her before recombining.
I think MM is now closer to 4000 than 1000?

 

[Finman]

The OP says they have 30 hives so requeening then does become more of an undertaking. Useful point of the vertical split and late season recombine is that it uses less space and if the new queen is a failure you can just remove her before recombining.
I think MM is now closer to 4000 than 1000?

Requeening q hive is not so difficult, that you must split you hive vertically. It does not make sense. Hive must be strong when it is main flow. I do not even know what is vertical split.

 

[Bazzer]

Requeening q hive is not so difficult, that you must split you hive vertically. It does not make sense. Hive must be strong when it is main flow. I do not even know what is vertical split.

When you get to 4000 hives you may need to find out

 

[Finman]

Not only the Australian research, Brother Adam too wrote a manuscript on introducing queens and he stated for best success a new queen needed to be laying for 4 weeks - to achieve maturity and acceptance. He went on to say the best way for full acceptance is to over wintering new queens in Nucs then introduce early the following season. Alternatively early October in the year she’s born. Guess we want quicker results but if we planned this way success would be good

To change the queen is not that difficult. I have done it 60 years without knowing anything about Brothwr Adams.

I have bought 2 times 4 queens from Italy, and bees wanted to change the queen inside one month.

 

[Bazzer]

Requeening q hive is not so difficult, that you must split you hive vertically. It does not make sense. Hive must be strong when it is main flow. I do not even know what is vertical split.

Here is a primer for you
https://www.theapiarist.org/vertical-splits-making-increase/MM uses a similar route to build up two colonies of bees on the same footprint (8 per pallet) and then recombines them for the heather flow

 

[Finman]

Here is a primer for you
https://www.theapiarist.org/vertical-splits-making-increase/MM uses a similar route to build up two colonies of bees on the same footprint (8 per pallet) and then recombines them for the heather flow

Very difficult to nurse and inspect the main hive.

 

[Bazzer]

Very difficult to nurse and inspect the main hive.

True - I think at the scale they work they don't bother - they just have a strong crew putting on supers as required

 

[Nige.Coll]

All my queens are clipped. This gives me other options during swarm season.
If I find the queen then she is removed or killed and then replaced with a queen or cell.
If like some queens they hide then no problem, she is clipped so cannot fly, let them build cells and try to swarm, the bees return to the hive and the queen is lost. The hive is queenless and has queen cells. Remove all queen cells and give them a new queen or queen cell from queen rearing.
Job done and little stress.
I try to replace the queens every other year unless they are special then in the third season.

 

[Finman]

True - I think at the scale they work they don't bother - they just have a strong crew putting on supers as required

My scale has been 20 hives. Now I have 4 hives.
1000 hives owners do no need advices in requeening.

 

[Lottie]

Here is a primer for you
https://www.theapiarist.org/vertical-splits-making-increase/MM uses a similar route to build up two colonies of bees on the same footprint (8 per pallet) and then recombines them for the heather flow

Does it matter whether the Queen is in the top or bottom box? To my way of thinking it's better if she's in the bottom as I only have to check the top box for numerous queen cells. I have two opposite entrances on both floor and crown board to save having to reverse the boxes.

 

[Bazzer]

Does it matter whether the Queen is in the top or bottom box? To my way of thinking it's better if she's in the bottom as I only have to check the top box for numerous queen cells. I have two opposite entrances on both floor and crown board to save having to reverse the boxes.

No it doesn't matter - you can help the returning foragers find the new upper entrance by leaning a board across where the lower entrance was so they land and walk upwards.

 

[user 20833]

I was at Mike Palmer's place when they were re-queening in July. They don't use excluders and it can be a pain to find the queen - they used the shaker box if she was elusive. Once the queen was found and killed the new queen went in under a push in cage. Four days later they check for eggs outside the cage, which would mean there's another queen in there. If no eggs - release new queen.

I wrote about how the age of the new queen can effect acceptance on my blog - basically the new queen should be 21+ days old (from emergence) to get decent acceptance. I don't think anyone gets anywhere near 100% success with queen introduction though.

 

[Lottie]

No it doesn't matter - you can help the returning foragers find the new upper entrance by leaning a board across where the lower entrance was so they land and walk upwards.

Thanks , good idea