Oops--help!

[Ellen]

The package of bees I bought didn't have candy in the queen cage, just a cork. I couldn't get the cork out without risking crushing the queen, so I pried up the screen just a bit, hoping to get her in without her escaping. Of course, she flew off.

Then, I did the same thing with the second package. Doh! I think the second queen is in the hive, though.

So now all the bees are flying around the hive. I increased the hive opening from the smallest to the largest, because it seemed bees were lining up to get into the one that might still have a queen.

Now what do I do? Is there a chance the queen that flew off will come back? How can I tell without waiting a week whether the other queen is still there?

Should I set up a swarm trap elsewhere on the property?

I hope I don't have to buy a new queen.

Thanks for your help.

Ellen

[Dave W]

Ellen . . .

Where or from whom, did you buy your packages?

[BerkeyDavid]

HI Ellen
The queen cages I have seen have 2 corks. One cork for the candy and the other cork, - well, it's just a cork.

So check your queen cage again and see if maybe there isn't another cork in the candy end of the cage.

My guess is that the queen that flew off is history, but you never know.

If all of the bees are moving to one of the hives, then the odds are that hive has a queen and you will end up with a 6 pound package of bees in that hive.

It isn't all bad, that is a good, if expensive, way to start.

You should have a nice strong hive building up. Make sure you give them plenty of syrup and maybe it will build up enough that you can split it later.

Maybe someone else will chime in with another idea.

[dcross]

I've gotten packages like that in the past. Wait three or four days and check the possibly queenless one and combine if she's not there, split later if you want.

[Michael Bush]

>The package of bees I bought didn't have candy in the queen cage, just a cork.

This is a typical California cage.

> I couldn't get the cork out without risking crushing the queen, so I pried up the screen just a bit, hoping to get her in without her escaping. Of course, she flew off.

It was a good plan except you need to pull the staple (and not the screen) first and then with the cage practically touching the top bars (and with it facing the top bars) peel it back. If you spray her with some light syrup it usually helps too.

Sometimes, however, there is a virgin loose in the cluster and then she will usually fly no matter what you do.

If a queen DOES fly, the thing to do is leave the box open and stand there. She will be more likely to smell the pheromones and she will most likely orient on you. If you see her come back, great. If you don't (more likely) then wait ten minutes for her to be able to orient on you and orient on the pheromones and get back in the hive.

>So now all the bees are flying around the hive. I increased the hive opening from the smallest to the largest, because it seemed bees were lining up to get into the one that might still have a queen.

If only one has a queen, they will most likely join it.

>Now what do I do? Is there a chance the queen that flew off will come back?

If she was going to she already would have.

> How can I tell without waiting a week whether the other queen is still there?

You'll know in a day. If there is no queen in one hive, I'll bet all the other bees will move to the box with the queen. The danger is if there is no queen in both, but if that happened they would likely have already left and joined her.

>Should I set up a swarm trap elsewhere on the property?

It won't hurt, but if you're going to do that, just put the lure in the box with the bees to make it more attractive to stay.

[Ruben]

It happened to me with my first packages last year and I stood still wondering what I was going to do for about 5 min and I looked over and she was on the side of the package and I was able to get her in the hive. I hope everything works out for you. I had eggs when I checked 5 days after installing them so if you don't see any signs of her in a few days you may want to order a queen.

[Ellen]

Well, I just put some baggies full of sugar water in the hives. One of the hives has a lot of bees clustered around the queen cage, but most of them are between the frames. That's the hive with honey super cell in it. (Maybe the second one didn't quite get out. I'll check her tomorrow.)

The other one has all the bees clustered on top of the frames on one corner. That's the one with just top bars and popsicle sticks. I put a few of the honey super cell frames in there to guide the bees in drawing out the new frames.

There was a cluster of bees the size of an orange on one of the cages, and now it's gone. That may have been the first queen. Here's hoping she went in.

Yes, it was a California cage. The bees arrived in good health.

It turned out to be a lovely day, weatherwise. Almost 60 here.

How long should I feed--everything is in bloom.

[Jim Fischer]

If the queen flew off in the open air, most often, she will
fly around for a minute or 10, and then RETURN to the
hived package, as it smells "like her".

I had the same thing happen once or twice when releasing
queens that had not been released from their cages by
the splits to which they were introduced after a decent
interval, and I did not want to have to come back yet again
to remove the queen cage.

What I'd suggest (for the future) would be to leave the inner
and outer covers off the hive with the wandering queen, so
as to give her a bigger pheromone plume upon which to home
in, and an easy top landing area with direct entry into the hive.

On the other hand, perhaps I was just lucky, but where ELSE
would a wayward queen go after she files around a bit to
"get her bearings"?

[Mitch]

What is ment by the term California cage?A typ of cage or where the packages came from.I have never had queen cages without candy.But getting packages form california this Saturday.

[Oldbee]

California cage? Interested too. Getting a few queens in May.

[Michael Bush]

>What is ment by the term California cage?

A "classic" three hole cage is a piece of wood with three holes bored in it. One of the holes is usually filled with candy and a screen is put over all three. Then there is a hole in each end of this block of wood with corks in them. One cork leads to the candy and the other to the "cage".

A California cage has a slot routed in it and a hole in each end. It is MUCH smaller than a three hole cage and has not candy. You can buy a small tube that is made to put on the end of the California cage if you want to put candy in it for a candy release.

With packages I do a direct release. With queens in a California cage, I use a push in cage, which is one of my favorite releases anyway.

[Brudd]

If anyone ever has the problem of no candy, First, always make sure you have a marshmallow ready, when you take the cork out put your finger over the hole until you can squeeze the marshmallow in, Instant candy!!!!
Works every time!

[Hillside]

What is ment by the term California cage?A typ of cage or where the packages came from.I have never had queen cages without candy.But getting packages form california this Saturday.

It's a very small cage, about 3/4 inch by 1 inch and maybe 1 1/2 or two inches inches long. It's routed out so it's hollow and a screen is stapled over the open side. There is one hole drilled in through the end. The plug is usually flattened slightly on two sides so that you can grip it with a small needle nose pliers.

There is no candy plug. I mix up some powdered sugar with a few drops of water to make a frosting-like consistancy. Then, when I pull out the plug, I put my finger over the hole. This gives me time to pick up a gob of the frosting and stick it in the hole.

Usually, by the time I recieve packages, they have been made up for three days or so. It's usually safe to CAREFULLY release the queen directly.

[Mitch]

Thanks to all for the info on the california cages.That is what i got in my packages.I put some thick sugar in the hole of 4 cages and did a direct release on another.I was not sure about the direct release so i onlt tryed one.I am sure all the queens were out in a short time tho.I will see in a few days how it all works out.

[RonS]

Have not read all the messages, but the same thing happened to me. My second package queen flew the coop and did not come back. I had both hived packages next to each other. The queenless hive moved over to the queenright hive. I had one heck of a strong hive, but only the one. Because you do not have drawn comb/brood/stores in the queenless hive, this is likely your best outcome. Later, you could order a new queen and split the hive that is double strong.

[LET]

My package (also a "California" package) had the queen in the standard wooden cage with only a cork holding her in. I was warned in advance to cover it with my thumb when I pulled the cork. I then pushed a small marshmallow into the opening for the bees to chew through. Knowing the setup in advance saved me the trouble of losing a queen.