Requeening issues!

[Superneutrino]

Long story short.

Had a duff queen. Squished her late evening on the 7th. Have a new mated queen arriving tomorrow (friday) so i went in and took down all the queen cells.

However... Now im panicing as i saw what appeared to be 2 emerged QCs (photos attached)

Now i dont know what to do with the new queen arriving and i am going away on Monday for a few weeks

I do not know what to do, i imagine if they are emerged that my relatively new eyes are going to struggle to find a virgin..

Any help appreciated!

 

[Swarm]

Do you have another colony you could pinch a frame of sealed/emerging brood from? If so an extra comb of stores and a frame of comb if you have it or foundation if not and make up a three frame nuc, shake in some bees as well and leave them a while for the flying bees to leave before adding your new queen and give them a feed of light syrup.
Have your break and when you come back, sort out any new queen in your hive before uniting them with the nuc and new queen.
If you put her in there I fear she won't last long.
Next time, have your new queen ready before squishing your duff queen.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

never make a colony queenless until you have the replacement in your pocket.

 

[user 819]

Utilise her and make up a nuc as suggested, one can sort out as said later on.

 

[user 819]

never make a colony queenless until you have the replacement in your pocket.

Sound seasoned advice.

 

[user 819]

Make the nuc up with a frame of sealed/ emerging and the nurse bees on it, slather the new Q in honey ( don't be shy with the honey be very generous ) and pop her in the nuc , they will accept her during the licky lick clean up. If not rushed pop her when slathered on to the top bars and watch the interaction of the bees.
I have yet to see any balling and one sees her once cleaned walk down in to the colony unmolested, close up and leave them to it to settle down for a couple of weeks of no fiddling.

 

[Erichalfbee]

never make a colony queenless until you have the replacement in your pocket.

I'm re-queening a nuc today and giving the old queen to my neighbour. Her colony is just dawdling along. As she will be replacing her old queen with a laying one should I tell her to break the tab on the cage straightaway? Should I bother with adding any attendants? She'll be in her new hive an hour after I remove her

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I'm re-queening a nuc today and giving the old queen to my neighbour. Her colony is just dawdling along. As she will be replacing her old queen with a laying one should I tell her to break the tab on the cage straightaway? Should I bother with adding any attendants? She'll be in her new hive an hour after I remove her

I wouldn't bother with attendants (they're only there for long trips. and as the queen is only in the cage for an hour or so, then maybe I'd risk breaking the tab straight away.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks. My thoughts too

 

[user 819]

Dani do the honey trick as Qu is like for like, a layer for a layer.
No need for intro's or cages, whip out the old Q plonk the replacement straight in slathered in honey and watch them accept her as they licky lick her clean.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes I thought about that but chickened out. I would have tried if the bees were my own. Anyway she is in with the tab out.

 

[user 819]

I remembe rthe first time I tried it and was very apprehensive , the honey intro on to the tops bars pretty much stuck her in place and the bees surrounded her and cleaned the daylights out of her . A few minutes later I watched as she wandered off down between the frames, shut them up and didn't bother them again for few weeks.

My beekeeping friend of HK chinese decent told me the tip, he said the Bulgarian beek he vistied whilst out there on holiday assured him that the technique was 100% each time and that he had never had a fialure with it as an intro.

 

[Erichalfbee]

My beekeeping friend of HK chinese decent told me the tip, he said the Bulgarian beek he vistied whilst out there on holiday assured him that the technique was 100% each time and that he had never had a fialure with it as an intro.

I will definitely try.
There’s always a first no matter how long you’ve been beekeeping.

 

[Swarm]

I remembe rthe first time I tried it and was very apprehensive , the honey intro on to the tops bars pretty much stuck her in place and the bees surrounded her and cleaned the daylights out of her . A few minutes later I watched as she wandered off down between the frames, shut them up and didn't bother them again for few weeks.

My beekeeping friend of HK chinese decent told me the tip, he said the Bulgarian beek he vistied whilst out there on holiday assured him that the technique was 100% each time and that he had never had a fialure with it as an intro.

I wonder if the Bulgarian beekeeper he visited was my friend's father? That was his method for queen intro, same assurance, 100% success It certainly works.

 

[The Poot]

I remembe rthe first time I tried it and was very apprehensive , the honey intro on to the tops bars pretty much stuck her in place and the bees surrounded her and cleaned the daylights out of her . A few minutes later I watched as she wandered off down between the frames, shut them up and didn't bother them again for few weeks.

My beekeeping friend of HK chinese decent told me the tip, he said the Bulgarian beek he vistied whilst out there on holiday assured him that the technique was 100% each time and that he had never had a fialure with it as an intro.

Seems counter intuitive- as the queen’s ability to “breath” must be prejudiced whilst glooped up?

 

[JamezF]

Seems counter intuitive- as the queen’s ability to “breath” must be prejudiced whilst glooped up?

I have wondered exactly that myself.

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I have wondered exactly that myself.

James

lost a good queen this year when a TOMA pen came apart in my hands as I was taking the cap off and left her swimming in a pool of paint.
bloody confusing inspecting afterward as I have a dozen red marked workers, plus a few red marked frones in neighbouring hives!