introducing a honey of a queen

**jmgi** · 06-21-2012, 11:04 AM

Has anyone been successful introducing a new mated queen into a queenless hive by dabbing honey all over her and letting her run into the hive? I just tried it and hope it works. John

**Dynasty** · 06-21-2012, 11:06 AM

I don't know if you were joking or not, but that made me laugh.

if you're serious... i don't know the answer to that

**LampBurner** · 06-21-2012, 05:52 PM

You took the exact words right of my mouth Dynasty to a tee.
jmgi if you actually really did do that, keep us posted.
Truthfuly, I suppose what would happen is they would first eat the honey off her then ball her.

**HiveOnTheHill** · 06-21-2012, 06:01 PM

I did this with introducing a virgin into a queenless nuc just a couple weeks ago. Not my usual practice but it turned out ok. I put her on an outside frame with a handful of bees and by the time they were done cleaning her all was well.

**LampBurner** · 06-21-2012, 06:30 PM

Well I wasn't sure this wasn't a joke, but looks like it is not. Certainly would be a quick and easy way to introduce a queen but I thought very risky. I think I can see possibly the honey covering or masking the new queens pharmones until the honey on her has been eaten, but....... I don't know. I think I might had better stick to the more traditional method for the time being. I'm glad it worked for you.

**RayMarler** · 06-21-2012, 06:52 PM

John, it sounds like you've been reading one of my favorite books. No, I've not tried it myself, but Doolittle did it over a hundred years ago and wrote about it in his book, Scientific Queen Rearing as Practicaly Applied in 1889.

**jmgi** · 06-23-2012, 07:34 PM

Just wanted to let you all know that I checked the hive that I introduced the honey covered queen into the other day and all is well, she is laying nicely. I don't see why this method wouldn't work most of the time, and I intend to use it until the bees show me otherwise. John

**Terrance** · 06-23-2012, 07:46 PM

a word of caution when coating bees with liquids(spraying with sugar water or saturating with honey), they breathe through their sides so there is always a chance you could accidentally suffocate her, if you feel the need to spray anything, spray the frames or the inside of the hive with sugar water, the last thing you need is getting your bees wet and them dying from it.

**jmgi** · 06-23-2012, 08:03 PM

I used a tiny model paint brush and just put honey on the top of her thorax, wings, and top of abdomen, its not like I dunked her in a jar of honey. John

**deknow** · 06-23-2012, 08:03 PM

I've done this, and had good luck. Not generally my first choice, but if you are not going to be able to Make it back to remove a queen cage and you have a mated queen handy it can be a good option.
the technique I was shown by a commercial beekeeper is to smoosh in a section of capped honey a bit larger than a quarter and drag the queen through like you are breading a cutlet.

Deknow

**Adrian Quiney WI** · 06-23-2012, 08:07 PM

I was reading about this method in "Better Queens" by Jay Smith. He was strongly against it. Yet, as Deknow says, if you know you can't get back in time it could be an option.

**deknow** · 06-23-2012, 08:19 PM

Right...if you can't get back to check, the queen might die in the cage.or not get released for one reason or another......by the time the hive is.queenless, they have no brood to raise a.new.one (she was in the cage) . If you do this kind of direct intro, at least if they reject her (and if they ha e brood) , they will still have the resources to raise a new one...remember that you are not planning to be back.for a.few.weeks, and you don't want to develop laying workers.....best case the queen is accepted and laying...worst case they get held.back a bit raising.g an emergency queen.

Deknow

**jmgi** · 06-23-2012, 08:22 PM

Why was Jay Smith against it? I'm sure there is a right and a wrong way to do it. All I know from 35 years experience is that bees love honey more than I do, and if you put in a queen with honey on her they are going to pay more attention to the honey than the queen. By the time they clean her up thoroughly they don't even remember that she is new. John

**Adrian Quiney WI** · 06-23-2012, 08:56 PM

He said it wasn't a safe consistent way to do it. He gave an example where a customer bought queens from him, didn't want introduction cages and was using the honey method. He complained later when the majority of the queens weren't accepted. John, I have only 4 years experience, and am only relating what I have read. Adrian.