Queen bee in cage

[Blacksheep]

I have a Italian Queen Bee who is in the cage and I need some bees for her.She has been in the cage for about 7 days and I have been feeding and watering her each day acouple of times.I put a little honey on the screen wire and also put water on it . Do you think she will still be good after say 10 days?

[Michael Bush]

You can get a cigar box (or some kind of equivalent) and poke or drill some air holes (1/8" bit on a drill will do) and put the cage in there and shake in some young bees from a brood comb.  Or you can take the queen in the bathroom (or use a queen muff) and get all the dead bees out first.  Get a pair of tweezers and go to a hive and catch the bees on the brood comb that have their head in a cell.  Grab then with the tweezers by the wings and shove their head in the hole int he cage.  After a second they will run in if you let go when they try.  Keep your thumb over the hole and keep putting in attendants until you have at least four.  If you have a Benton cage you can put in seven.  Give them a drop of water every day (if they have candy) or if you do the cigar box version, cut a piece of sponge and make some 1:2 (1 part sugar 2 parts water) syrup in the sponge.  Wring it enough that it doesn't run out of the sponge.  Add a few drops every day.

[Blacksheep]

Hi Michael: Well I did as you suggested and went out and collected 4 attandants out of the hive and put them in with the queen.I dropped the small cork and lost it in the weeds os I cut a small piece of sponge and soaked it in sugar water and put that it the wooden cage end.The bees are feeding off that so maybe she will be ok .
I have 3 hiv3es and the cut out is one of the 3 hives.I took a frame of eggs and brood along with the bees on them and put the in a nuc and placed it in the spot where the hive was.The box was a mess with beetles all in it maggots as well. Thanks all I need now is some bees to go with her!