Limping queen

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Joined
Jun 14, 2023
Messages
384
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Location
Surrey, England
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
14
Bred a new queen in a 3 frame nuc. She's laying well, and limps along.

Should I leave her to it, in the hope she overwinters, or splash out £40 on a mated queen?

The colony will soon be across 4 frames in a poly nuc.
 
I cut the back leg off a new queen whilst clipping her. She was 3 when they superseded her. Yours will be fine I'm sure.
 
They generally replace limping queens but it can take some time.
 
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I once requeened a colony and popped the new queen and retinue in the bee shed while I dealt with a couple of other colonies and removed the old queen. It was a cold day and when I went to collect the cage all the bees, to my horror, looked dead!
I warmed them up in my hands and they woke up. Phew!
 

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