How long have you waited for a postal queen to start laying?

[Obee1]

Back at the beginning of July I bought myself three buckfast queens and introduced them via travelling cages to their respective colonies. Each colony was in a nat bb and was hopelessly q- as evidenced by test frames. I checked on 1 July that they were released from cages and I went on holiday for 18 days.
In my absence the weather was pants (haha!) so not good for the bees. On Tuesday 19 july I inspected the three colonies.
First one - no brood or eggs. No evidence of queen - she was marked white and the HB flow has started so there are many white bees!. Very disappointed!
Second one - exactly the same. No eggs or brood or sign of queen. Even more disappointed!
Third one - bias! Woo hoo. There are a few frames of capped brood aswell as bias. One out of three. Expensive queen! Interestingly this colony was fed a litre of syrup the day queen went in.

So I went back Thursday- yesterday. In the first colony - still can't find queen but there is a small patch of eggs! As they were hopelessly q- it must be her!

Second colony really arsey - got stung - so curtailed inspection but didn't see eggs.

I remain hopeful about number two!

 

[beeno]

If they got enough bees and are on a flow maybe they don't want to look after brood at the moment? I know it does not help when you have bought expensive 'laying' queens!

 

[Tom Bick]

Did you see the queens in the hives on the 1 July? Or just empty cages?

How long after confirming with a test frame did you introduce the queens and did you remove all emergency queen cells including ones just started?

The eggs could be from a queen and perhaps not from your buckfast but equally could be the start of laying workers? A few more days will confirm.

Give the two possible Q- hives a test frame sap and see what that tells you.

 

[Obee1]

Re the newly appeared eggs - A fellow beek checked in about 9 July and saw the queens - no QC ( test frame was from 25/6 and I went back twice to remove QC) So it would appear to be my Bucky - I need to see her to actually confirm.

The buckys were from exmoor sent overnight.

 

[Tom Bick]

Is the queens were seen on the 9 July then it would appear both were accepted. It is possible the white mark has been removed.

I would still give them a test frame.

 

[B+.]

In the first colony - still can't find queen but there is a small patch of eggs! As they were hopelessly q- it must be her!

.....or...you have an unmarked queen and they killed your introduced queen.

The best method of acceptance is a shook swarm taken from the supers and left overnight to get used to the queen before allowing them to access the fondant and release her. Then leave her for a week.....or under a push-in cage.

 

[birdsandbees]

I've introduced five posed queens so far this year, one into a very aggressive colony, 100% acceptance has been achieved by using a home made push in cage, it's about three inches by five and when placed where there is sufficient food and ideally emerging brood she has been laying within a couple of days and safely released.

 

[Obee1]

I've introduced five posed queens so far this year, one into a very aggressive colony, 100% acceptance has been achieved by using a home made push in cage, it's about three inches by five and when placed where there is sufficient food and ideally emerging brood she has been laying within a couple of days and safely released.

I normally use my homemade push in cages. I had three mated queens at the end of May I introduced this way. All three were initially accepted.one started laying within a few days. The other two were seen wandering round the combs a week later but never came into lay and just disappeared around day 10 - as confirmed by test frames. I'm getting extremely peed off with paying for mated queens who never lay and then disappear. So far this year I've bought 6 (two lots of three from different suppliers) and three queens never started laying. (I will test frame the colony from 1 July to see if she's present.)

 

[sipa]

We highly recommend the use of push in cages, virtually never fails.

It's vitally important to let newly mated queens settle into laying properly before caging to ship, especially in a year like this one.

It's been terrible for getting queens mated properly.

 

[foghornleghorn]

I normally use my homemade push in cages. I had three mated queens at the end of May I introduced this way. All three were initially accepted.one started laying within a few days. The other two were seen wandering round the combs a week later but never came into lay and just disappeared around day 10 - as confirmed by test frames. I'm getting extremely peed off with paying for mated queens who never lay and then disappear. So far this year I've bought 6 (two lots of three from different suppliers) and three queens never started laying. (I will test frame the colony from 1 July to see if she's present.)

Did they get delayed in the post? Got queens that were in the post 10 or 12 days and over half of them died/got replaced within 2-3 weeks

 

[sipa]

If our queens are travelling long distance / time we use cages that carry some water as well as candy, seems to work.

Exceptionally hot weather is to be avoided, that's the real killer.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

never had a problem introducing queens using JZBZ cages - it's all about patience, sometimes we tend to over complicate things

 

[B+.]

I'm getting extremely peed off with paying for mated queens who never lay and then disappear. So far this year I've bought 6 (two lots of three from different suppliers) and three queens never started laying. (I will test frame the colony from 1 July to see if she's present.)

Perhaps the fault is not with the queens.

 

[Obee1]

Perhaps the fault is not with the queens.

How so? If the queen lives in the colony for a week or more and never lays what would you suggest I did wrong?

 

[Obee1]

Did they get delayed in the post? Got queens that were in the post 10 or 12 days and over half of them died/got replaced within 2-3 weeks

Two of the queens were in the post about 5 days - but the other one was overnight.

 

[Anduril]

I normally use my homemade push in cages. I had three mated queens at the end of May I introduced this way. All three were initially accepted.one started laying within a few days. The other two were seen wandering round the combs a week later but never came into lay and just disappeared around day 10 - as confirmed by test frames. I'm getting extremely peed off with paying for mated queens who never lay and then disappear. So far this year I've bought 6 (two lots of three from different suppliers) and three queens never started laying. (I will test frame the colony from 1 July to see if she's present.)

I have had queens wandering around the combs totally ignored by the bees and then disappear, I put it down to beekeeper error. You go back in and find a queen cell you have missed. Lesson learnt and more careful these days. This year I kept a buckfast queen caged for 6 days before removing the tab. I went in on day 2 and day 4 to remove queen cells, day 6 no queen cells and removed tab. Queen doing well. Also feed on introduction.

 

[maddydog]

I have had queens wandering around the combs totally ignored by the bees and then disappear, I put it down to beekeeper error. You go back in and find a queen cell you have missed.

Had that happen a couple of times. Annoying introducing an often paid for queen only to make a mistake. Live and learn.

 

[Webby]

I had a buckfast queen delivered from Scotland and I'm in the south east. Ordered Tuesday and arrived on the Thursday. I introduced her into the hive on Friday morning and left her for a few days. When I checked the following Wednesday she had been laying well. I put her in on the 1st July and I'm hoping there will be some brood emerging by tomorrow when I have another look.

 

[Obee1]

Had that happen a couple of times. Annoying introducing an often paid for queen only to make a mistake. Live and learn.

Nope, no QC missed. There was no brood other than the test frame in the hives. Just checked my records. The queen that has just started laying after 2.5 weeks I removed the whole brood frame complete with the QC's way before they could emerge and put it in a nuc. (there is a laying queen in the nuc now). There was zero brood left in there. The one where queen still not laying I went back three times to remove QC from the one and only brood frame in there. They were hopelessly q- and I definitely did not miss any QC.

 

[maddydog]

Nope, no QC missed. There was no brood other than the test frame in the hives. Just checked my records. The queen that has just started laying after 2.5 weeks I removed the whole brood frame complete with the QC's way before they could emerge and put it in a nuc. (there is a laying queen in the nuc now). There was zero brood left in there. The one where queen still not laying I went back three times to remove QC from the one and only brood frame in there. They were hopelessly q- and I definitely did not miss any QC.

Fair enough, but I'd be happy to wager that the vast majority of failed queen introductions is due to there being one of: a) virgin q, b) duff mated queen, c) laying workers, in the colony.