Laying Worker solution from a production standpoint

[RHBee]

From the standpoint of honey production a colony that loses its queen is pretty much a loss for the year. I'm posing that one solution would be to remove the hive, move a strong queen wright colony into its position then shake out the laying worker. The returning bees would know that this is not their home and would assimilate into the new location. Is it safe to assume that the returning bees would be nonaggressive and be accepted by the new colony?

[10framer]

during a flow i'd say yes.

[10framer]

it might go better if you move them at dark and let them return with full bellies the next day instead of shaking them and having them storm the gates as a group.  then shake out what's left the next afternoon and they'll drift somewhere.

[sterling]

Put a queen excluder on top of a strong queen right colony and put the laying worker hive on top of the queen excluder. They will join theirself and you will have a strong production hive. If you don't use excluders remove it after a week or so.

[AliciaH]

If it's an advanced case of laying workers, I'd even go one further and use a double queen screen rather than an excluder.  After a week or so, you'll start to see the laying workers back off (decline in egg laying) in the presence of better pheromones.  It's when they start backing down that I remove the double queen screen and combine the boxes.

[RHBee]

I guess I'll make a couple of double screens. I understand that they are good to have for various manipulations.

[Michael Bush]

The problem is the bees return to the old location thinking it is their colony.  Better to put NOTHING at the old location and shake them out and let them move in to other locations which they know are NOT their colony so they enter with humility instead of indignation.

[RHBee]

Well I guess we will find out what is going to happen. The colony I moved into place had no open brood but had a frame with 5 capped queen cells. All in all after the union a pretty big population. I'll keep watch and let y'all know how it turns out.

[RHBee]

Update--I just took this image of what's left of the laying worker colony. They took roost under my bedroom window. I'm going to let them humble a little more then dump them on a strong QW hive. Not much left the rest are part of the other colony now.