If you've never introduced a bought queen, save your money and stick with your original plan.
Secondary swarm still in tree after more than a week…
- Thread starter Beemum
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OP
Def no issue with the investment idea (I keep rare breed poultry as well), just a lot of money, but if she's worth that much who am I to argue?
OP
This is only my first full year so I'm a bit nervous of major expenditure in case I mess things up...
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It’s what you are comfortable with. I like to experiment but I’m lazy and don’t rear my own queens. Swarm goes to a lot of trouble to improve his queens and I’m sure he would agree with me that they are worth decent money. They aren’t free. He has invested much time and effort into breeding them.
As for introducing queens there’s always a first time.
You could always just reunite them with the hive they came from if your test frame makes queen cells
As for introducing queens there’s always a first time.
You could always just reunite them with the hive they came from if your test frame makes queen cells
Precisely. There's plenty of time to to invest and experiment, I'm not fond of seeing people waste their money.
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Then let them raise a queen and if she fails you can put them back where they came from
OP
Thanks both, lots to think about ...for me this working things out is an unexpected pleasure of beekeeping, and I look forward to the day I feel like I "know" my bees a bit more 
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If you are still interested in buying a Q these guys may be worth a call. They sell Queens and are in Northumberland...
Good Luck
HTH
K
https://www.northumberlandhoney.co.uk/
Good Luck
HTH
K
https://www.northumberlandhoney.co.uk/
They say they produce Raw Honey so I’m dubious already
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Thanks both, lots to think about ...for me this working things out is an unexpected pleasure of beekeeping, and I look forward to the day I feel like I "know" my bees a bit more
fifteen years down the line I’m not there yet.
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Yes that’s where I got mine from
OP
I'm very glad I didn't buy a new queen as I've just been into the hive to check if they'd done anything with the brood frame I gave them a few days ago; there was a play cup and something that looked similar/like a v prominent capped drone cell and I was just thinking "I don't know what to do now" when the light caught a patch of grubs on another frame 
I don't know what this means - other than there was a queen but I didn't see her...but there were definitely no eggs or brood when I checked before, and the bees were very whiny and agitated (they're much happier today) so is it possible she just needed a few days to get into her stride, or was she a virgin queen and has only recently mated?
Either way the colony is getting started and we've got a reasonable flow here atm so
they get themselves strong enough to have a chance of coping with the winter.
Oh and as I'm dealing with a strong-ish colony (my other hive) for the first time, I'm amazed at how warm the hives get, I felt properly guilty taking the crown board off!
I don't know what this means - other than there was a queen but I didn't see her...but there were definitely no eggs or brood when I checked before, and the bees were very whiny and agitated (they're much happier today) so is it possible she just needed a few days to get into her stride, or was she a virgin queen and has only recently mated?
Either way the colony is getting started and we've got a reasonable flow here atm so
they get themselves strong enough to have a chance of coping with the winter.Oh and as I'm dealing with a strong-ish colony (my other hive) for the first time, I'm amazed at how warm the hives get, I felt properly guilty taking the crown board off!
