Opinions

TwT · August 14, 2006, 06:45:55 PM

I have shaken out laying worker hives before and added queen cells or frames of brood and eggs, but I have 3 queens arriving tomorrow from Dann purvis and would like some opinions on introducing a new queen to this laying worker hive, I'm going to shake the hive out and add a few more nurse bee's from another hive because the population is only about 6 frames of bee's... should I shake out the hive today or can I wait till tomorrow morning to shake out the hive , I have to leave tomorrow so when the queens get here I have to intro them and leave,,, opinions please thanks in advance....

tom · August 14, 2006, 08:01:38 PM

Howdy

If i was you i would take the hive somewhere away from the stand and then shake them because the workers that are laying has never left the hive so it would be hard for them to come back to the stand and then when your queens come i would introduce them in the hive but i would leave her in the cage for a few days. To make sure no more eggs are being laid then i would check for queen cells if you have put other frames of brood in and destroy them. Then a few days i would get some sugar syrup and mix some vanilla extract in it then spray the whole hive down and the bees then i would let the queen out and spray alittle on her so she will not fly away and then i would close it up and check back in a couple of days to see if she is still living and has started to lay.

Tom

TwT · August 14, 2006, 10:44:16 PM

what I am going to do with the 3 queens is 2 of them I am putting in splits I made today and in the morning Im going to make a nuc up for the 3rd queen, the laying worker hive Ill just shake them out like I have done before and add a couple frames of eggs and young larva and let them take care of themselves......

thegolfpsycho · August 14, 2006, 10:46:25 PM

I think that's best ted. I sure wouldn't put a new purvis queen in a laying worker hive. Protect your investment, then combine the laying worker colony with them once she gets going.

Brian D. Bray · August 14, 2006, 11:00:41 PM

In all situations if you can put in a frame of brood along with the queen it should aid in the acceptance of the queen. This is partiicularly true in the case of the laying worker hive. Setting up the hive with a frame of two of brood and nurse bees in the same place as the layinng worker hive was and then shaking the layingworker hive out across the bee yard will find those bees that can returning to a queen right hive.

TwT · August 27, 2006, 03:47:45 PM

UPDATE: well all 3 PBA queens are excepted and filling the frames with eggs (check yesturday). everything worked out fine......... 2 IN SPLITS AND 1 IN NUC.........

tom · August 29, 2006, 12:52:54 AM

Howdy

Thats good to hear and i also have a queen coming this week i am going to requeen my second hive because they are good workers but my queen has been laying very spotty patterns and she is not a big as she once was and i also did some looking and saw alot of drone brood so her time has come to fast.

Tom