What if:
I took my laying worker hive. This hive has about 5 frames of partially drawn comb, multiple eggs is every cell, eggs on top of pollen, looked several times for the queen, etc. What if I placed it on top of my other queen right new hive separated by a screen that none of the bees could pass through. Essentially, 2 separate hives on top of each other. The hive on the bottom has a queen, and open brood.
Then I left the LW Hive on top of the queen right hive for a week. Letting the open brood pheromone permeate the LW hive. Then pull it off, and introduce a mated queen in a cage. Leave her in there for a few days and release her. Would a week on top of a queen right hive with open brood be enough to suppress the LW and allow them to accept a mated queen?
I can't answer that but I have done the same thing in a combine and it worked well. Make sure the one on top has an entrance. When you remove it you'll see foragers returning looking for the top entrance.
I have done it and it worked, but it's as easy to give them a frame of open brood every week for three weeks until they start queen cells and let them set things right.
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslayingworkers.htm
Quote from: Michael Bush on April 27, 2016, 10:14:32 AM
I have done it and it worked, but it's as easy to give them a frame of open brood every week for three weeks until they start queen cells and let them set things right.
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslayingworkers.htm
If I take a frame of brood from another hive, where to I put the empty frame I am putting back in to replace it? I don't have any drawn comb, except that which is full of eggs from the LW hive. Would I put a frame with just foundation in the middle of the brood nest of the good hive?
Also, I have a queen that I can get, could I put her in a push in cage on the frame of brood and place her and the brood in the LW hive?
>If I take a frame of brood from another hive, where to I put the empty frame I am putting back in to replace it?
Just swap the frames.
> I don't have any drawn comb, except that which is full of eggs from the LW hive. Would I put a frame with just foundation in the middle of the brood nest of the good hive?
Or an empty pulled from the laying worker hive...
>Also, I have a queen that I can get, could I put her in a push in cage on the frame of brood and place her and the brood in the LW hive?
It's not a very reliable method... they may kill her.