Is it safe to let the queen out?

[sean-a]

I have bought a couple of new queens.
To install them, I have put one in a mating nuc with a handful of bees.

The other I have put into a nuc with a single frame of emerging brood and the covering bees.
I put her in with the bees 24 hours ago and closed them up.

The queen is in a cage on the floor, covered with bees.
I am not sure if they are being aggressive or not.

I have attached some pictures of the situation!

Is it safe to release her?

Grateful for your help.

 

[Angry_Mob]

I wouldn't.

The nuc, did you make it up a day or time before adding the queen? Also, did you add stores? Usually you need to leave them several days before they will accept her. A good investment is a push in introduction cage or if you have some varrora mesh make your own. You might be better hanging the cage between the frames as well.

 

[sean-a]

Yes, she has been sealed in the nuc with the bees on the frame of emerging brood for 24 hours.

 

[pargyle]

Yes, she has been sealed in the nuc with the bees on the frame of emerging brood for 24 hours.

The safest way to install a new queen into an existing colony is to make up a nuc with about four frames - one or two frames of brood with eggs on them covered in bees.. a couple of frames of stores. Do this a few days (at least 24 hours) before you intend introducing the new queen. The Nuc must be queenless, they will start to make queen cells and prior to introducing the new queen you knock these down. They are then hopelessly queenless and have no way of raising another. You then place the new queen in her cage in the centre of the Nuc - suspended between the two frames of brood. Leave the tab in place on the cage and add a feeder.

Leave them about three days and then have a look in .. if they seem disinterested in the queen at that stage break the tab off the cage and they willl then eat their way through the candy plug - by the time they get to the queen her pheremones will be merged with the colony and she will usually be accepted. Give them a few more days and check that's she's been released ... then give them a few more days and check she's laying.

 

[Beefriendly]

An hour before you introduce new queen in cage is sufficient time for them to realise they are queenless.
If you make and set up the nuc in the same apiary make sure you chuck in extra bees. The flyers will return to the original colony leaving you with nurse bees , that seem to more readily to accept a new queen.

 

[Finman]

An hour before you introduce new queen in cage is sufficient time for them to realise they are queenless. They remember the idor if their queen.
.

IT does not mean that they accept a new Queen odor just like that.

IT is sure sign that the Queen will be killed if workers make a cluster around the cage and bite the mesh.

I use to wait 24 hours before I offer the bew queen. No hurry to offer it as soon as possible.

 

[Bakerbee]

I just introduced a queen exactly as pargyl suggested only difference was i made a push in cage to place over some brood and stores with some empty cells for her to lay. That way i could leave her with her attendants for longer. When you go to remove the cage the bees should be easily pushed off of the cage. If they are fighting to cling on with grim death theyve not accepted her yet. Good luck.

 

[Beefriendly]

IT does not mean that they accept a new Queen odor just like that.

Nope that's is why she still in her cage...usually leave for 3 days and see how bees are reacting.
Sure 24 hours is fine, if you have the time and forewarning.

An old trick I employ is to cage the queens in the hives I am replacing about 7-8 days before I am expecting new queens. You get the odd supercedure cell in some of the colonies, but the important point is there is no material left for the bees to make new queen cells from after you introduce your new queen in a cage and leave for 2-3 days before releasing...obviously you remove old queen in cage before adding new.

 

[Finman]

Nope...
Sure 24 hours is fine, if you have the time and forewarning.
.

Beekeepers are always in a hurry. Big hurry.

 

[Finman]

you introduce your new queen in a cage and leave for 2-3 days before releasing...obviously you remove old queen in cage before adding new.

I move old queen between fingers and squeeze. Then final flight into bush.

I do not keep new queen 2-3 days in the cage. Usually one day. It depends, how bees accept the new queen.

You have time to do odd movements.

 

[Beefriendly]

I do not keep new queen 2-3 days in the cage. Usually one day. It depends, how bees accept the new queen.

Yes, it depends on how the bees accept her. I find 2-3 days works well in most cases. However if its the local aggressive bees in my area I never directly re-queen a hive as they are very reluctant to accept anything.
They are re-queened by air freshener or newspaper unite....after throwing old queen in bushes.

 

[Finman]

.
Yesterday it took couple of minutes to look, what is bees' opinion about the new Queen. They were queenless 2 days and it is good raspberry flow on.

New Queen was half hour away from laying, and it surely had fresh aromas.
.

 

[sean-a]

Thanks Finny et al.
I am impatient, but the bees and caged queen have been in the nuc for two nights and a day, so getting on for 36 hours, no eggs in the nuc, just emerging brood.
The queen was pretty quiet this morning - I thought that she had died at first - only one attendant bee, but she revived with a bit of honey, I will give them a drop of water too.

Bees still clustered around her though.

 

[eltalia]

Nope that's is why she still in her cage...usually leave for 3 days and see how bees are reacting.
Sure 24 hours is fine, if you have the time and forewarning.

An old trick I employ is to cage the queens in the hives I am replacing about 7-8 days before I am expecting new queens. You get the odd supercedure cell in some of the colonies, but the important point is there is no material left for the bees to make new queen cells from after you introduce your new queen in a cage and leave for 2-3 days before releasing...obviously you remove old queen in cage before adding new.

My 'secret' method I don't pass on to many. Pleased to read someone who has also
figured out how bees think. )
I am waiting on an emergence now in my queen castle to place those in three colonies
using this very method.

Bill

 

[Finman]

.
I have 15 ways to give the new Queen. IT depends how bees react. I do not have counted, are they really 15. But sometimes they are able to violate the Queen.

 

[sean-a]

The bees have clearly sensed my impatience and are having none of it!
Still clustered around the queen's cage.

 

[Jonathan]

They will always cluster around the cage. It is how they are acting that is the main thing. Are they acting aggressively towards it ie trying to sting it etc?

 

[Finman]

.
When bees bite the cage with their jaws, it is not a good sign.

 

[masterBK]

Don't like using Butler Cages as aggresive workers can bite the feet off the queen (which have pheromone producing Arnhart (tarsal) glands). Plastic travelling cages are better as they have areas where the queen can go to avoid being attacked.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

If a plastic cage is sandwiched between two frames of brood or food, it's only the sides of the cage that are exposed, so the bees inside the cage are thus protected. It will be warmer compared to on the hive floor too and where the bees would expect to find her.