Headnavigator
Drone Bee
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2011
- Messages
- 1,049
- Reaction score
- 1
- Location
- Isle of Wight
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 4
Reflecting on the number of posts here where beekeepers are going nuts trying to find and eliminate old queens or drone-laying workers before introducing a new queen, and having been there myself, I am prompted to ask what the implications might be of simply putting a caged new queen, breaking the fondant tag after a few days, and letting nature take its course? After all, some of us miss supercedure or even swarm cells and unknowingly end up with the risk of more than one queen in the hive. Obviously the major risks are of the colony or the old queen killing the new, but equally (?) they may kill off the old, especially if she is a non-layer, surely? Is a swarm occasionally likely to arise from this procedure rather than a killing? Are there other outcomes that may ensue? Anyone know of any research done on this? I'm curious as we go to such extremes to avoid this.