Signs of accepted caged queen?

[Erichalfbee]

But it’s not a like for like….. she’s a purchased queen and been in transit.
Personally I don’t think there’s a bigger waste of purchased queens than trying to introduce them to stroppy colonies!

Absolutely. So you make a nuc up, get the colony going then unite. The instant cure for a nasty colony is to move it ( except the obvious)

 

[Norton]

They appear extremely pyssd off.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

My understanding is - if they hate her they will ball the cage and suffocate her. Am I correct?

not really

 

[ForageFlight]

I killed a queen of a very hostile hive yesterday and placed a new bought queen in a cage on a frame of brood.

I had planned to break the tabs today but when I went into the hive as well as the bees being grumpy as normal, they were absolutely covering the cage. Even after I shook them off and placed it on top of the frames they seemed to frantically cover the cage again.

I checked a few brood frames for any emergency cells but couldn’t see any but as they we so grumpy with me I didn’t want to hang around and check every frame.

I have re-queened once before but that was with a split and the bees just seemed a lot calmer around the cage after 24 hours it they accepted her with no issue.

Does that frantic behaviour sound normal on a very busy hive or is this sign they would currently ball her? What should I be looking for to see that they have accepted her?

Should I wait a few more days before breaking the tabs?

Your best bet is search for queen cells and destroy them all and go through it again in another 3 days and destroy any queen cells. I would leave tabs the cage 6 days before taking the tabs off. Then check in 2 days that she is out of her cage and leave another 4 days before searching for eggs and if you find no eggs give the bees a frame of brood with eggs.
The best intro of a new queen is to introduce her to a Nuc with no old bees. The nurse bees are more likely to accept her and to do this you need to move the colony to a new site to do this. As you have started this method I would stick to it. good luck with it

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

to do this you need to move the colony to a new site to do this

no you wouldn't

 

[ericbeaumont]

move the colony to a new site

A few yards is enough to lose flyers from the nuc; turn the entrance round if you wish. Colony can stay where it is.

 

[Bee’s Knees]

Your best bet is search for queen cells and destroy them all and go through it again in another 3 days and destroy any queen cells. I would leave tabs the cage 6 days before taking the tabs off. Then check in 2 days that she is out of her cage and leave another 4 days before searching for eggs and if you find no eggs give the bees a frame of brood with eggs.
The best intro of a new queen is to introduce her to a Nuc with no old bees. The nurse bees are more likely to accept her and to do this you need to move the colony to a new site to do this. As you have started this method I would stick to it. good luck with it

As mentioned on the basis of the first advice I popped the tabs. I will go and see if they accepted her in a few days.
If they have killed her and I decide to go down the nuc route with another queen how long is it before you can then reunite back to the hive?
Doing this would the leave the hive with no queen and no eggs. How long can you leave it before they might become drone laying?

 

[Sutty]

If they have killed her you could give them a frame of eggs & young larvae from a nicer colony, then you can either let them raise a queen from that (don't forget to knock down QCs on other frames) or just use them to keep them happy whilst you get another queen.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

just remember that, even if they accept the queen, if you fiddle around a lot in the hive too soon after they release her, they may well change their minds and kill her.
Especially if she has been caged for a while it may be days or much longer before she starts laying.

 

[Kaz]

As mentioned on the basis of the first advice I popped the tabs. I will go and see if they accepted her in a few days.
If they have killed her and I decide to go down the nuc route with another queen how long is it before you can then reunite back to the hive?
Doing this would the leave the hive with no queen and no eggs. How long can you leave it before they might become drone laying?

I unite once the new queen is laying, usually a week. It's a much safer way of introducing a new queen to an aggressive colony and getting her accepted

 

[ForageFlight]

As mentioned on the basis of the first advice I popped the tabs. I will go and see if they accepted her in a few days.
If they have killed her and I decide to go down the nuc route with another queen how long is it before you can then reunite back to the hive?
Doing this would the leave the hive with no queen and no eggs. How long can you leave it before they might become drone layi

 

[ForageFlight]

As mentioned on the basis of the first advice I popped the tabs. I will go and see if they accepted her in a few days.
If they have killed her and I decide to go down the nuc route with another queen how long is it before you can then reunite back to the hive?
Doing this would the leave the hive with no queen and no eggs. How long can you leave it before they might become drone laying?

Now you have divided your colony in two.The old sight would have half the brood so they can raise their own queen and this will stop the colony becoming dispondant. If the old colony calms down after the new virgin emerges you have the option of keeping her. If the new virgin turns out to be bad temper the colony is smaller for you to deal with her and can move the odd brood frame to the new sight to where you younger bees and having accepted a new your queen. You can merge the hive at your leisure using the newspaper method. Never transfer a bad temper nuc to full hive.She will get ten times wore in a full hive If she is bad temper always divide into another Nucleus and either get a queen or some calm bees genetic material into that Nucleus. One of my bad temper Nuc has been divided 4 times this year queen will go before before the end of season.
Keep to the method you started with. this would be a more ideal solution good luck anyway

 

[Bee’s Knees]

Update - Just checked the hive for the first time since I popped the tabs and the Queen is alive and happily walking all over the frames. I didn’t check for eggs or anything as the hive was very hostile as usual.
Now hoping to see a big improvement in 6 week.
Thank you for the advice, maybe I just got lucky on this occasion and will use a safer method if I need to something like that again.

 

[blackcloud]

As JBM said ,strap the lid down and leave well alone now or they may turn on her.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Update - Just checked the hive for the first time since I popped the tabs and the Queen is alive and happily walking all over the frames.

Hooray
@drex was right.
They loved her!

 

[markb2603]

I for one, am relieved

 

[Amari]

Hooray
@drex was right.
They loved her!

I concede.......

 

[Erichalfbee]

I concede.......

The battle of the medics

 

[JamezF]

The battle of the medics

They're not laying siege to Florence again, surely?

James

 

[drex]

Might do. Loved Firenze when I spent 8 weeks there in the 70's.