I was killing time at the library and came across this and found this interesting. This author recommends letting the queen out of her cage an into a push in introduction cage in the center of a brood frame where brood has emerged. The only benefit I can think of is letting the poor queen out of a smaller cage into a bigger cage and letting her lay a few eggs. Whats the big deal. seems there is more risk for beekeeper err trying to release the queen into the push in cage than any possible benefit from it.
http://www.hcbees.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Splitting_Colonies__Swarm_Control.pdf (http://www.hcbees.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Splitting_Colonies__Swarm_Control.pdf)
page ten eleven and twelve. Did I miss something or what?
I didn't download the book, but one instance it is said to work well is Using a large push in cage when requeening a laying worker hive. It gives the hive not only the queen pheromone, but also the brood pheremone, to stop egg production in the laying workers.
bees most readily accept a queen who is proving her bonefides by laying eggs. Plus the cages usually coer emerging brood who also readily accept and care for her.
A push in cage is by far the most reliable release short of a combine with a nuc. They rarely reject a queen who is in the act of laying.
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfaqs.htm#pushincage (http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfaqs.htm#pushincage)
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesqueenrearingsimplified.htm#pushincage (http://www.bushfarms.com/beesqueenrearingsimplified.htm#pushincage)
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesdoolittle.htm#ValuableQueen (http://www.bushfarms.com/beesdoolittle.htm#ValuableQueen)
I have a good enough success rate, seems like more trouble and risk than its worth. I can see trying this on a laying worker colony on plastic comb where the bees cant chew threw the comb as easy. That could be worth it.
>I have a good enough success rate, seems like more trouble and risk than its worth.
Until you spend $200 on a breeder queen...
"Until you spend $200 on a breeder queen..."
Hmm, maybe then. But thats a very unlikely maybe.
Other times that introducing a queen is risky:
The colony has been queenless for a long time.
The colony has laying workers.
You are introducing a Russian queen.
You are introducing a new queen to a very hot hive (possibly AHB).