Requeening

[Geo224]

I'd like to replace a failing Q in one of my hives with a Q I have over wintered. I will make up a Nuc from the original hive to intro the new Q. What are peoples experiences with taking old Q out and replacing with new caged Q an hour or so later? Have they been accepted ok?

Thanks.

[Jon]

Is your queen in a mini nuc/apidea?
If so, I would do it the other way around.
Make up a 2-3 frame nuc with young bees and introduce your overwintered queen to that in a cage a couple of hours after you make it up.
Open the tab on the cage 24 hours later so they can start to release her.
When she has been laying for a week, nip the queen in the other colony and combine via newspaper.

Alternately keep swapping out frames of larvae for frames of sealed brood between the two colonies to build it up quickly.

There is a higher success rate introducing a queen to a nuc than to a full colony.
If you have loads of spare queens it's not a problem but if you just have one you need to be careful.

[Geo224]

Sorry yes my over wintered Q is in an apidea which I want to put into hive to replace failing Q. Will make up nuc from full hive to intro over wintered Q.

Wasn't sure how long to leave them before introducing new Q. A couple of hours it is thanks.

[prakel]

There's a video which you may find useful at some point in the future if not this time around (I have posted it on the forum before but it's worth a revisit).


http://youtu.be/bfGvCuONq3Q

[Jon]

Wasn't sure how long to leave them before introducing new Q. A couple of hours it is thanks.

A couple of hours is fine as they will definitely know they are queenless in that time.
What way is your queen failing? Drone brood in worker cells?

[Geo224]

A couple of hours is fine as they will definitely know they are queenless in that time.
What way is your queen failing? Drone brood in worker cells?

No drone in worker cells yet. The colony is just not building up like the rest, it has half the brood of my other colonies and patchy. Strong last year but in all honesty I didn't have the best time with A/S that colony last season. So think runty Q.

[Geo224]

There's a video which you may find useful at some point in the future if not this time around (I have posted it on the forum before but it's worth a revisit).


http://youtu.be/bfGvCuONq3Q

Thanks. Interesting tip with the matchstick.

[prakel]

There's a technique based around the same theory demonstrated by Michael Palmer on the following video where he tests for queenlessness.



http://youtu.be/RX3BgnOkozs

[Geo224]

Micheal palmer has done some good videos on you tube. Be good to be a fly on the wall over there.