banking queens.

rober · April 18, 2014, 10:49:42 PM

I still have 2 caged queens. if I put a queen excluder over the inner cover & a 2" spacer on top of that can I put the caged queens in there?

Vance G · April 19, 2014, 01:15:16 AM

Above the inner cover might be too far away. Lay the excluder on the top bars and the queen boxes facing up above it. That way the queens can retreat from any foot biters but still get fed. I prefer to use a small box and put a food and water source in it and a handful of bees. Lot more portable that way.

RHBee · April 19, 2014, 05:54:14 AM

Quote from: Vance G on April 19, 2014, 01:15:16 AM
Above the inner cover might be too far away. Lay the excluder on the top bars and the queen boxes facing up above it. That way the queens can retreat from any foot biters but still get fed. I prefer to use a small box and put a food and water source in it and a handful of bees. Lot more portable that way.

The small box with some food worked for me. I kept them in the house for 2 weeks. I had to replenish the syrup every now and then.

rober · April 19, 2014, 10:01:32 AM

they are in a screened battery box now. if I can keep them alive until my new queens get some brood going i'll make nucs. I don't have enough bees or resources to make nucs now.

Dallasbeek · May 01, 2014, 11:16:33 PM

I'm a bit clueless on this whole business, so forgive me, please. Vance G, (or anybody) these bees are trying to kill our caged queen, but they'll still feed her? They must be very "humane" in their nature.

I made several mistakes in requeening one hive last month, but I'm pretty sure my new queen has made it and I split the hive, putting the old queen in a new 8-frame hive and that seems to be building okay, so I guess so far so good, but there's still so much I don't know/understand about these astounding creatures, so enlighten me (us), please.

Gary

Wolfer · May 01, 2014, 11:55:14 PM

Dallas
This is not my field here but bees have different jobs according to their age and abilities. The guard bees may try to kill her but if she asks to be fed by sticking her tongue thru the screen the nurse bees will feed her.
However if she has attendants they won't feed them.

This is my take on it. Whatever it's worth.
Woody Roberts

Vance G · May 02, 2014, 12:52:15 AM

Are you speaking in general? Or are you watching you bees trying to kill an introduced queen? For a new queen to be accepted, there can be no other queen mated or unmated in the hive and no laying workers either for that matter. I understand that Russian genetics also resist a replacement queen not of their race though I have not had any to my knowledge.

If you put a caged queen in such a queenless colony, they are going to get used to her smell and the smell of the colony itself will start to permeate her. Spraying everyone involved lightly with light sugar syrup 1:1 or a little less with a few drops of vanilla extract will make everyone smell the same and speed the process.

You can tell when the colony is ready to accept the caged queen. They are on the screen offering her food or grooming not frantically trying to get at her! If you see them biting at her feet on the screen or any abdomens down on the screen trying to sting, they are not ready. Generally on the fourth day, I take a look at how the bees are acting and just direct release her or put a nail thru the candy so it is just a short time til she is released. She needs to be out of that cage for a proper grooming and feeding so she is stimulated to get back in laying condition.

One last caution, if you ever decide to direct release a caged queen, remember she is a flying insect! I always pull thee outside frames and stick my hands down deep in the hive body and pull the cork or pry off the screen so her first sight is the dark space under the bottom bars of a frame of bees. Then you will not be the guy lamenting that your queen flew away. I hope that helped. Vance

Dallasbeek · May 02, 2014, 10:15:16 PM

Vance G,

I'm asking because of things I've read on the forum, but also to learn how to "read" beehavior in future requeening. I lucked out this year, I think, having apparently pulled the cork before I should have because my queen was in a weakened condition because it was Shipped April 10, arrived April 12 and we were having some pretty bad unseasonal weather in Dallas. My friend lost both his queens and picked some up today in Navasota, TX. i'm concerned there may have been some laying workers develop in his hives with this delay, so I'm trying to learn as much as I can to help him. He's got years more experience than I have, but I read more, maybe, so we make a good team in a way.

Btw, my middle name is Vance, so I'm G. Vance and you're Vance G. Thanks forthe input.

Gary