Requeening

[Roola]

Very quick question... I have a colony I want to requeen as she's getting on a bit and the bees have gone from placid lovelies to rabid monsters over the winter. I have a queen in my mating nuc ready to go in and wanted to get things started this evening. I'm going to put her into an introduction cage however, my question is many books and internet searches state you need to leave a hive queenless for at least 24 hours before putting in introduction cage... Is this always the norm? Can you not kill the queen, then place in the introduction cage (taped over the end) and leave it in there for longer than you might normally before removing clip/tape or is it most likely that a quick switch is likely to result in non acceptance? I'm a bit short of time this weekend hence the question and i'm also quite curious

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

24 hours is too long if you can avoid it (and certainly not the minimum) IMHO - leave them Q- for a couple of hours if you can manage it then put queenie in with a bit of tape over the candy - twenty four hours to three days (depends how you gauge their mood when you open up first) and take the tape off; that's my usual method, I've also done it without the brief Q- period (out apiary, no time to hang around or bad weather closing in) and each time it's worked. The only time I would concede a 'fail' is when I missed a supersedure cell due to rushing when the rain started (they obviously weren't happy with the old queen either) and when I opened up after a week to remove the introduction cage the virgin was just walking away from the open cell and the new queen had swarmed......................into an empty hive three 'doors' down. Glad it went like that because both are now laying like trains.

 

[Hawklord]

I find and remove the old queen. I then spray the wolf colony with a spray bottle full of water and a few drops of peppermint. I then place the sprayed queen cage and put it between the frames where the old queen was. I leave the attendants in and leave the candy exposed. I check a week later to make sure everything has gone to plan.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I agree, no need to take the attendants out, although in this case they won't be in there anyway as she will go from nuc directly (in her cage) to the new colony

 

[Hawklord]

I would still put attendants in the cage as food will be passed and therefore queen pheromone.