Introducing a new queen

[Zante]

I've come to suspect I have a queenless hive, but I'm not seeing any laying workers yet. I'll check the colony on saturday and see if there's any fresh brood.

Now... how do I make sure the hive is indeed queenless? Ok, no brood is a good indication, but I don't want to try and introduce a new queen in a Q+ hive that has the queen off lay for any reason.

From what I gather I can put the cage in the hive and see if the bees accept her, and if they do accept her (ie not try to kill her through the cage) release her. Is my understanding correct?
How long can a queen stay in her cage?

I was planning to split the colony soon, so if it turns out that there actually is a queen in there, I can use the new one in the Q- half of the split. So the question pops up again: how long can she stay shut in the cage (first in the old hive and if they don't accept her in the new one)?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Test frame
A frame with young open brood and eggs
Wait three days
If queen cells are being made you have no queen.
If you don’t and the bees are just capping the brood you either have a queen or you might not. Try another.
What I mean is bees with a queen will not raise queen cells
Bees without might not raise a queen cell but if they don’t it’s worth trying another test frame. Sorry clear as mud v

 

[Stedic]

Test frame
A frame with young open brood and eggs
Wait three days
If queen cells are being made you have no queen.
If you don’t and the bees are just capping the brood you either have a queen or you might not. Try another.
What I mean is bees with a queen will not raise queen cells
Bees without might not raise a queen cell but if they don’t it’s worth trying another test frame. Sorry clear as mud v

If you add a test frame and get cells, would you let the bees raise a queen from these cells? I guess she might not be great, but she'd be a queen to keep them going until a more suitable queen was available. I'm talking in the early stages of queenlessness when the colony is still strong.

Not that I've squashed a queen or anything...

 

[enrico]

I would but others wouldn't!
E

 

[Erichalfbee]

If you add a test frame and get cells, would you let the bees raise a queen from these cells? I guess she might not be great, but she'd be a queen to keep them going until a more suitable queen was available. I'm talking in the early stages of queenlessness when the colony is still strong.

Not that I've squashed a queen or anything...

If you can’t immediately get a queen then yes. No harm in it.
If the colony is strong and has lots of young bees an emergency queen is perfectly acceptable particularly if she is raised from young a young larva.

 

[Zante]

I'd need another hive to get a test frame.

I had two colonies, one didn't pass the winter, and before I could split the one I had left it goes and loses the queen.
I might be able to get a frame of eggs, I've been asking around, but i want to cover all bases.

 

[Millet]

If you add a test frame and get cells, would you let the bees raise a queen from these cells? I guess she might not be great, but she'd be a queen to keep them going until a more suitable queen was available. I'm talking in the early stages of queenlessness when the colony is still strong.

Not that I've squashed a queen or anything...

I did that last year and it got me a mated Queen and she is my best laying wise, and i will do the same again all day long, she was from a frame of egg's from a Danish Queen placed in a laying worker colony...which saved me from going bald.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I'd need another hive to get a test frame.

I had two colonies, one didn't pass the winter, and before I could split the one I had left it goes and loses the queen.
I might be able to get a frame of eggs, I've been asking around, but i want to cover all bases.

You don’t need a whole frame. If you know anybody else that keeps bees or perhaps somebody from your local association you could ask for a circle of brood cut out with a biscuit cutter. Cut a hole in one of your own frames and pop the donor piece in. The donor hive will make the deficit good in no time. If your hive has been queenless for some time I wouldn’t rely on old bees with poor hypopharyngeal glands to feed you a decent queen. That’s not to say you can’t get queen cells started. It would keep your bees happy while you sourced a new queen.

 

[Millet]

I'd need another hive to get a test frame.

I had two colonies, one didn't pass the winter, and before I could split the one I had left it goes and loses the queen.
I might be able to get a frame of eggs, I've been asking around, but i want to cover all bases.

You need to know really if you are Q+ or Q-, personally i would go through the hive with eye's like a Owl and methodically go over each frame.
If that fails do it again and if that fails i would move the full hive away from it's original spot, give it ten minuets and you will have less bees to sift through, if that fails stick a Queen excluder on a empty brood box, place the suspect queen box ontop and smoke them through the excluder..it may take a while but it will be quicker than messing on with test frames.

 

[Podilia]

If your hive has been queenless for some time I wouldn’t rely on old bees with poor hypopharyngeal glands to feed you a decent queen. That’s not to say you can’t get queen cells started. It would keep your bees happy while you sourced a new queen.

But if they get a new virgin queen they kill any other good queens introduced.
It is often easy to know whether the colony queenless. Bees almost don't work flutteering with the wings. There is a specific buzz in the hive. Such behavoir lasts for several days until they get queen cells or workers start to lay eggs.

How long can a queen stay in her cage?

You can seal the hole in a cage with candy or solid honey and allow the bees to release a queen themselves. But you must be sure they don't have any virgin queens or laying workers.

 

[ShinySideUp]

How long can a queen stay in her cage?

I am about to receive (on Saturday) a new queen and the people on the site say the queen is good in her cage for up to five days after receipt so long as you supply water, a few drops twice a day.

 

[Millet]

I am about to receive (on Saturday) a new queen and the people on the site say the queen is good in her cage for up to five days after receipt so long as you supply water, a few drops twice a day.

Wet your finger and slide it over the cage.. that is easy and works.

 

[Zante]

Managed to get my hands on a frame of young brood (including eggs). Already added it to the colony.
Now, fingers crossed for a nice queen cell next week...

Worst case scenario, I have a nuc provisionally booked and they will be ready at the beginning of June.
I might get that nuc anyway and use it to populate my vacant hive, or if necessary unite it with the stubbornly Q- hive and split them later on.

Hopefully that frame will be all they need.

 

[Bakerbee]

I had a sticky moment earlier in the month, after performing a split i found 1st hive queenless and no young enough brood to raise a new queen with. 2nd hive bringing on a new queen from split. I had teo pre ordered queens due to be ready but had to wait nearly 3 weeks of q- till they were ready. Hive 1 i just prayed, hive 2 i found the newly emerged vq and squooshed her 3 days before my new queens were due to arrive. I decided to make my own push in cages, just smaller than a frame to give the queen and her attendents lots of room to begin laying and spread her scent. I had zero brood in any stage by this point in either hive. Im verry happy to say after a peak 48hrs after putting them in i found new eggs layed and acceptance already. So i removed the cages and observed for a bit. Im now leaving them be to settle and hope that the gap in young bees during all this will not be their demise. By the way I found doing vq search with my hubby very beneficial as we could have eyes on both sides of the frame at the same time.