Queen mating hives

[sean-a]

4. Leave them for 1-2 hours before introducing a QC or virgin.

Oops - I have just put a sealed QC in along with a cupful of bees shaken from a sealed brood frame on another hive...
Do you think that I should start again?

 

[Hebeegeebee]

I usually put in the queencell, place the mini nuc upside down and shake in bees then slide the base across to keep the bees in. All within a few minutes. No problems.

 

[madasafish]

I usually put in the queencell, place the mini nuc upside down and shake in bees then slide the base across to keep the bees in. All within a few minutes. No problems.

I do it the other way round. But I have clear plastic sheets in all mine (that don't have clear c boards..) with a cross slit to insert the QC through.. Tape the sheet on either side in the middle and they don't blow away. (I use clear file covers - slightly stiff so easier to handle.)

 

[Eyeman]

Oops - I have just put a sealed QC in along with a cupful of bees shaken from a sealed brood frame on another hive...
Do you think that I should start again?

No I would leave them.
It's like most things in life you can go for belts and braces or take a chance.
QC's introduced to bees in an Apidea who aren't expecting a QC can tear it down. There is less risk if the bees come from the colony which had the QC, or you put a piece of foil around the QC and only expose the tip or if you leave the colony for a couple hours and when you hear them 'roar' they now realise they are queenless.

 

[Garry R]

No I would leave them.
It's like most things in life you can go for belts and braces or take a chance.
QC's introduced to bees in an Apidea who aren't expecting a QC can tear it down. There is less risk if the bees come from the colony which had the QC, or you put a piece of foil around the QC and only expose the tip or if you leave the colony for a couple hours and when you hear them 'roar' they now realise they are queenless.

I introduced a sealed queen cell into the mating hive and added the bees. They were very quiet for about 3 days but today they were flying like crazy for about an hour then went quiet again. I don't think the queen would have got mated in the few days she was in there but is it possible that the excitement was just the queen emerging from her cell which would be more realistic in the time scale.

 

[Ian123]

I introduced a sealed queen cell into the mating hive and added the bees. They were very quiet for about 3 days but today they were flying like crazy for about an hour then went quiet again. I don't think the queen would have got mated in the few days she was in there but is it possible that the excitement was just the queen emerging from her cell which would be more realistic in the time scale.

They probably just had a orientation flight.

 

[polymath]

Agreed