Housing old queens until they are needed

[fuzzybeekeeper]

Hey Guys,

I am replacing all 10 of my queens this weekend (they are all over a year old and are getting a little "hot") and I want to know if there is a good way to hold my old queens in reserve until I am sure the new ones will "take".  I don't need 10 new hives and I don't have any nucs but I do have several old boxes that can be divided with a wooden panel.

I thought about putting them in the queen cages that the new queens came in, but I want to leave the hives queenless for 12 hours before introducing the new queens so that won't work.

I guess I could get some more queen cages when I go to pick up my new queens.

If I did make a new nuc out of some of the queens could I put foundation and a couple of frames of bees in a divided box and fool them into thinking that they have swarmed?  Will they draw out the foundation that way?

Any ideas will be appreciated.

Fuzzybeekeeper

[Finsky]

You could leave 3 best queens to reserve and make a 3 frame nuc for old queen. Take from hive a frame of emerging trees and give 2 frames more.  

If  you loose some queen you may raise new queens in that hive.  When the eggs of new queens have hatched take on tiny larva and change it to the emercengy queen cell.  You may raise 10 new queens more.

[Brian D. Bray]

Holding old queens don't make sense when it's possible to grow a new one in an emergency if you have more than one hive.  If the queens are keepable why replace them to begin with?  If they are going hot then all you're doing is re-creating hot hives.

[Finsky]

Holding old queens don't make sense ....

That is true ... I noticed that if you raise own queens and you have hot drones around , changeover will no succesfull if you continue hot stock.

If some queens die it is better to bye more queens.