View Full Version : requeen laying worker nuc?
I have a couple nucs that i split off of a productive hive and decided to let the bees rear their own queens. Both had capped queen cells and whatever happened (lost on mating flight?) now one has laying workers. I was told to introduce a new queen and that that would be ok because the workers hadn't been laying for long. From all I know or have read it is not possible to do this and I would have to shake the bees out to have them return to another queen right hive. :confused: what is the real deal?
I would set the queenright nuc in the place of the laying worker nuc, then shake out the laying worker nuc. The remaining good workers will combine with the queen right nuc and strengthen it. You can try another split later.
Michael Bush
05-23-2005, 07:34 PM
Ross has about the best idea. It's that or remove all of the old equipment and then shake them out. They will have no where to return to sho they will wander into the other hives.
SOMETIMES you'll succeed at requeening a laying worker hive, but you'll fail more often.
This is my plan. I am picking up a new queen tomorrow I will shake out the laying nuc bring it inside then the next day remove a few frames from a strong hive of brood pollen honey and then introduce the queen into that nuc.
chillardbee
05-26-2005, 10:44 AM
There is no cure for laying workers, after going through 7 queens i shook them out. This is what i do for them now.
i make a nuc and get a laying queen established in it and move the nuc to where the laying worker colony is. I move the laying worker colony 10 feet away in front of where it was setting and shake them out and sprnkle surgar syrup on the so there will be now fighting going on. Where the laying worker colony use to be i place a new super with the 4 frame nuc inserted into it. usually the layers can't fly or crawl any great distance so that is why i shake them 10 feet away. the nuc benefits greatly by the other bees that return. (make sure when you place your nuc into the super that the queen is as close to the center of the nuc as possible where she can be protected until the hive settles down from the gathering of the other bees).