Re-queening a queenless hive

[Suzi Q]

A hive I suspected of being queenless was confirmed with a test frame, 5 capped emergency cells.
This is my plan, any advice welcome!

Remove emergency cells on test frame, and check through all frames just in case.
Remove supers.
Place nuc with laying queen in a brood box.
Put a sheet of newspaper over Q- hive (was brood and a half)
Then put on brood box containing the new queen with her brood and newly emerging bees.

Should there be any length of time between removing the emergency cells and uniting, or can it be done at the same time? Is it best to do this procedure in the evening?

 

[Mike a]

Your plan sounds fine, although can I ask have you considered knocking down 3 of the cells and let the other two develop and then let them sort it out between them and produce a lovely new queen. I see you have a few colonies always good to have a small colony ready in case of an emergency as we fast approach what is likely to be a wash out in terms of the main flow for most of us.

As for when to combine, I like to ensure the colony is queenless for 24 hours but others will say a hour or so is long enough and I doubt the time of day makes any difference really apart from the weather conditions.

 

[Suzi Q]

Crossed my mind..I did remove all but two today. I have this buckfast queen, she is laying very nicely, in the nuc and I don't want to waste her. I read somewhere that queens from emergency cells may not be very good queens? So the idea is rather than wait another 3/4 weeks until the hive has brood again to unite the nuc and hopefully catch a late nectar flow, balsam, and blackberries in my area. I have a back up nuc, it was the queen from this colony, A/S 13 May, only they are superceding her right now!

 

[Midland Beek]

Sounds okay to me.

Presumably you are going to clear the supers first, and presumably you understand the need to put holes in the newspaper.

 

[Mike a]

Sounds okay to me.

Presumably you are going to clear the supers first, and presumably you understand the need to put holes in the newspaper.

I combined a couple of colonies last year and completely forgot to put slits in the paper, went back a week later and found all the paper shredded up outside the hive and colonies combined just fine, it may speed up the whole process a little but I don't think its critical.

 

[Suzi Q]

Yes to the first, and is it strictly necessary to prick holes in the newspaper?
Answered, already!

 

[sherwood]

A hive I suspected of being queenless was confirmed with a test frame, 5 capped emergency cells.
This is my plan, any advice welcome!

Remove emergency cells on test frame, and check through all frames just in case.
Remove supers.
Place nuc with laying queen in a brood box.
Put a sheet of newspaper over Q- hive (was brood and a half)
Then put on brood box containing the new queen with her brood and newly emerging bees.

Should there be any length of time between removing the emergency cells and uniting, or can it be done at the same time? Is it best to do this procedure in the evening?

Given that the nuc is probably on the newer wax my preference would have been to put the Q right colony on the bottom and definately on the site of the nucleus rather than on the site or the Q- hive. I would also remove the hive from the site of the old q- hive otherwise you will have the flying bees returning there. The bees from the top box will move down to get to the entrance. Otherwise you methodology sounds fine.

 

[poshpikey]

Would it be okay to put a sheet of newspaper underneath the supers rather than clearing them?

 

[Suzi Q]

I'd like to know the answer to that as well...

 

[sherwood]

If you follow my advice and put the the queen right colony on the bottom this is not an issue as the old brood box with its suppers can go above the newspaper.

 

[Suzi Q]

Hi Sherwood...the thing is I don't have alot of space for shifting things around, as I would have to do if I wanted to put the Q- hive on the site of the nuc. Ok for a nuc to be there, but not a full sized hive!

 

[Jeff Buzz]

I combined a couple of colonies last year and completely forgot to put slits in the paper, went back a week later and found all the paper shredded up outside the hive and colonies combined just fine, it may speed up the whole process a little but I don't think its critical.

I did exactly the same they brought out bits of paper 3" long and when after a week I opened the hive they had taken it all out to the out side wall

 

[alanf]

I did exactly the same they brought out bits of paper 3" long and when after a week I opened the hive they had taken it all out to the out side wall

Some keepers make slits or pin holes, some don't. If you were using shiny magazine type paper they might find it harder to get a start but the usual newsprint doesn't seem to give them any problems getting through whether it's slit or not.

 

[nessieb]

This is a great post, I may have to do a similar thing but
1. Why the need to clear supers first?
2. Does it matter if you move the Q+ nuc to the Q- hive or the other way around and whats the thinking behind it?

 

[Suzi Q]

Hi Nessieb, I can only speak for my own particular situation, so others more experienced may have other suggestions.
1. I thought I should place brood box to brood box, therefore since the supers were on the Q- hive and the Q+ nuc is to go on top the supers had to be removed.
I could have done what Sherwood suggested only there really wasn't enough room for the hive to go where the nuc is at present.

 

[Suzi Q]

Well, those bees have chewed through the paper already, and I only united this morning! Looks like they chewed it up and pushed it through the mesh because most of it is underneath the hive. No signs of fighting, yet...

 

[oliver90owner]

Does it really matter? I do them the way that suits. Generally the 'other' colony goes on top of the one on the site used. There may be exceptions and I take each unite on it's merits, on the day.

A very weak colony (as in few bees) would likely go on the bottom, whether Q+ or -. If it is a standard timber nuc, it goes on top - simplest way to get the job done.

When uniting I prefer, if removing a laying queen, to leave them a week to make them hopelessly queenless.

Suzi Q's unite? I would have made sure the test frame was checked after the unite, just in case they had built more queen cells (if there were under three-day-old larvae). Remote risk, but they could just retain one...

As long as you plan ahead and decide what you intend doing, after considering the options, you just get the job done and go home.