introducing queens to a strong colony.

[keith pierce]

Anyone know a fail safe way of introducing a newly mated queen to a strong colony.
I had a colony that I had marked for moving to the heather, had 3 supers full and was stuffed with bees and just made a attempt to swarm. I broke down all the queen cells twice and then introduced a new queen. I plugged the cage with fondant and wrapped the end with 4 layers of news paper.
3 days later I pulled off the supers to see my dead queen been pulled up thought the top bars of the brood chamber.
I have queen cells that are to hatch tomorrow that I will insert, but I was hoping on not breaking the brood production in the hive.
I have other queens in apideas but I don't want to waste them.
Keith

 

[Hivemaker.]

No such thing as a completely fail safe way,but introducing the queen to a nuc made up of young workers from this colony would be one way,then unite.
Or if introducing direct to full colony,firstly don't use a newly mated queen as you state,but one which has been laying for a few weeks,queens that are newly mated do not give of the correct amount of pheromone,i would leave the queen in the cage in the colony for a few days before release,and observe the bee's reaction to her in the cage a few days later, before removing the tab to allow the bee's to eat her out,if not balling the cage then all is usually okay,plus don't go pulling supers three days after....or do anything for at least ten days or more.....leave well alone,then just a quick look to see she is laying and close up again....no great clouds of smoke puffed into colony.
Obviously make dead sure they are absolutely queenless first,and have no brood of the age with which they can raise any cells.
A twin chute introduction cage also is the best type to use.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Insted of actually making up a nuc you can place the brood box on top a blank crown board with small entrance to rear,on top of hive/supers, under one roof,all the old bee's will fly back to original entrance leaving just young bee's in top box,they will except the queen no problem,then unite back to bottom box's with paper.

 

[Max]

I had the same problem, how to introduce a new queen to a strong hive, so what i did was place the new queen in a butler cage and seal the end with plastic sheet, so the bees cannot release the queen then secure on top of a brood frame, so the bees get all over the cage, quiet aggressively but the queen is safe and her feet do not get bitten by the bees.

In the meatime they will feed her and get to know her then 8 days later when the bees were not bothered by her, i put marsh mellow in the end of the cage, placed her in on the brood frame and let them release her over a couple of days.

It worked well and she is laying superbly.

 

[RoofTops]

There is a special type of cage which is placed over sealed brood. The queen is out into the cage and there are no other bees in with her. As the sealed brood emerges they accept the queen without question and after a few days the cage can be removed. This is about as near to 100% safe as it is possible to get.

 

[Hivemaker.]

You mean like the one in this list, in below link Rooftops.
The twin chute cage works on a similar principal,but does not need to be removed.
http://www.buzzybeeshop.co.uk/page3/page13/page13.html

 

[keith pierce]

I think i would prefer to leave her trapped in the cage for a week than having to go to the bother of finding brood that is just emerging, and of damaging two frames of brood.

thanks.... keith

 

[Finman]

.
there is no difference with strong colony when you give a new gueen.
When the hive has open queen cells, they do not like new queens. When queen cells are capped, it is easy to introduce a queen.
When the queen has mated under 2 weeks the introducing losses are about 30%. -australian researh.
I

 

[Finman]

. To stop swarming fever only good way is to make a false swarm on foundations.

 

[RoofTops]

Hivemaker - yes that's the one.

 

[beebreeder]

bought one a couple of seasons ago and never used it, now i have said that I will have no end of grief!!!defininitely a lot easier to introduce a queen into a nuc of young bees though

 

[Beeline]

Not a strong colony - just a normal nuc

Does it matter whether one introduces a queen together with her attendants, into a nuc, or is it essential that they are removed beforehand?

I ask because the company I have bought from say it is perfectly ok to leave the attendants with her but I know some on this forum say it should be without. What's the consensus?

The nucs in question is made up of young as well as 'old' bees btw.

 

[drstitson]

personally i leave them in.

 

[Stiffy]

Hivemaker - yes that's the one.

Tried one a couple of times on a couple of strong (nasty AMM type) colonies and they chewed through back of comb and killed her.
Since then I have made up a couple of elongated butler cages out of floor mesh off cuts, these stretch the width of a frame. No scientific fact but guess it allows HM to be spread pheromones and move over a wider area and be accepted without getting hurt. It seems to work but still prefer to make up a nuc and then combine.
S

 

[Beeline]

About to introduce HM to her new queenless colony this evening.

Does one normally apply some tape on one side of her plastic cage to give her protection in case they bite her legs OR, just straight in as is with a spray of syrup and a puff of smoke?

 

[Stiffy]

About to introduce HM to her new queenless colony this evening.

Does one normally apply some tape on one side of her plastic cage to give her protection in case they bite her legs OR, just straight in as is with a spray of syrup and a puff of smoke?

I normally put a covering of tape over the candy plug to stop them releasing the queen too early and to ensure they don't have the means to raise their own
S


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