Queenless Nuc

[Voltemand]

I had prepared a couple of nucs for re-queening. Expecting the queens by post on 29th July, I broke down all queen-cells in the 2 nucs on the morning of the 28th. The new queens have not arrived, and may not for another week. Does anybody know how long it will be before these two queenless colonies, under stress and with no eggs (though some sealed brood) will start laying workers, and how long that process takes? I need to decide whether to give them a frame of eggs, or leave them for a week on the assumption that they'll welcome a new laying queen with open arms (it's never straightforward, requeening, is it?).

 

[Mike a]

They will be fine for another week.
Once you have the queens go for the slow release method (do not let the bees have access to the candy plug) for 2-3 days, this gives you a slightly higher chance of them accepting the queens.
(I leave the attendants in with the queen)

GL

 

[Voltemand]

Now that's what I call a quick reply! Thanks, Mike.

 

[Voltemand]

I always take the attendants out.

 

[Voltemand]

But then again, I always unplug straight away. So I'll try delaying releasing her next time - belt and braces.

 

[Mike a]

I just go with the method that has worked successfully for me repeatedly over the last few years. IMHO there is nothing more annoying than losing a perfectly good queen by rushing to get her introduced.

As for your other questions in your opening post hopefully Hivemaker, Poly H or some of the other more experienced bee keepers can answer them.

 

[Voltemand]

As it happens, my new queens are going to be another week, so I've borrowed a couple of virgin queens in cages and put them in caged to keep the nucs happy and hopeful.

 

[Voltemand]

Please see my later update on drone-laying workers.

 

[adrian wilford]

i left the candy in, with 2 layers of newspaper covering the end held on with a rubber band, left them for 4 weeks and still lost 5 queens out of 6, ******* bees, why dont they behave constantly? done that method lots of times and its always worked successfully, until now

 

[Voltemand]

I suspect they nibbled through the paper and candy in a very few hours, Adrian. I taped mine securely with electricians tape, and they had to wait for a couple of days till I let them out. So far so good with this trick.

 

[Finman]

I I need to decide whether to give them a frame of eggs, o?).

It is better to give that nuc has something to do.

 

[beebreeder]

Give them a frame of open brood ,loads of pheremones and they have to care for the brood, but you have left the whole thing rather late, as and when your new queens arrive their first job will be winter bees and they will have to get on with it, just work the figures from egg to worker against the time available to get the colonies established. They also will want feeding and protecting from the wasps.