Laying workers question

[garys520]

I tried re queening my laying worker hive but they killed the new queen I tried to introduce.   If I combine the doomed hive with another that has a strong queen will this shut down the laying workers?

[AllenF]

Yes.

[iddee]

And may kill that queen, too. It is best to shake them out on the ground and let them go to the other hive on their own. Then there won't be any fighting.

[FRAMEshift]

You can add a frame of eggs and let the open brood pheromone get the laying workers under control.  You might have to repeat the process a couple of times.  Otherwise you can shake out, do a single combine, or split the laying worker hive up and put the frames in a number of queenright hives.  Splitting them up should have the same effect on fighting as a shakeout but with less effort.

[VolunteerK9]

Do a search on here for a 'queen introduction frame'. Ive used one in the past successfully.

[Finski]

.
When the hive rear its own queen cell, it is often difficult to give a new queen.

When their queen cells are capped, they accept what ever queen.

When bees become older, like in mating nuc, they are difficult to accept new queens again and again.

[BjornBee]

Here is our best advice concerning laying worker colonies....

http://www.bjornapiaries.com/badbeekeeping.html

[FRAMEshift]

Here is our best advice concerning laying worker colonies....

http://www.bjornapiaries.com/badbeekeeping.html

So Bjorn, when you do a combine, do you get fighting or attacks on the queen in the hive you are combining with?

[Finski]

Here is our best advice concerning laying worker colonies....

http://www.bjornapiaries.com/badbeekeeping.html

yur advices are not theoretically correct. It as little bit hype, and queen setting is not so difficult what you writ.

I know that you loose your mind but that is life  :mrgreen:

[Finski]

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If you have a possibility to offer a queen, which you are giving up, give it to that trouple maker.

Often the bees of worker layer are at the age of foragers. So it is good to join them that they make their duty as honey collectors. As brood rearer 3 weeks ahead, it is not a wise solution.

[BjornBee]

Here is our best advice concerning laying worker colonies....

http://www.bjornapiaries.com/badbeekeeping.html

So Bjorn, when you do a combine, do you get fighting or attacks on the queen in the hive you are combining with?

Not at all. I use newspaper, smoke the crap out of them, or even lightly spray the bees with sugar water if I have it handy. The combine usually goes smoothly and I correct the problem in one fell swoop. Of course, there are many side questions and knowledge with no answer being fully explained. Like knowing in addition to combining hives, some thought needs to go into it like not combining a laying worker colony stronger than the queenright colony.