intoducing virgin queens to the hive

[mixofsam]

Hello,
I'm thinking about ordering some virgin queens this spring for a few of my hives (which will be queenless). Is there anything different about how virgin queens are introduced versus mated queens?
Thanks,
mixofsam

[beegeorge]

keep her caged for a few days,, for the scent to permeate the hive,, and make sure you have plenty of Drones available for her to mate with,,

[camero7]

http://www.beesource.com/forums/show...light=ammonium

[squarepeg]

lauri has posted photos and video of simply placing (already marked) virgins directly onto frame with uncapped nectar/honey.

she describes how most virgins will begin feeding themselves immediately after putting them in contact with frame.

i can't wait to try this.

[RAK]

You will have higher acceptance with queen cells than virgins. I have introduced 500-600 virgins this last season and have found that you have to make sure all the brood is capped brood and feeding helps with acceptance. I dropped queens into a solution of honey and water and then dropped them into a nuc. Acceptance varied. Sometimes 90% other times 60% and even had times with as low as 30%. I have found the older the virgin the lower the acceptance.

[squarepeg]

good to know rak. how long between hatching and introducing do you see acceptance going down?

[Rolande]

I dropped queens into a solution of honey and water and then dropped them into a nuc. Acceptance varied.

Hi, genuine question: What was the reasoning for using this method? I've no experience of introducing virgins although I have been mulling the possibilities over during this last winter. To me (with my zero experience) I would have thought that coating them with honey would cause the nuc bees to pay far more attention than they would usually pay to a virgin which in turn could also increase the chance of rejection.

[jim lyon]

I have found the older the virgin the lower the acceptance.

Good observation and something that is as close to established fact as there is in the whole business of introducing virgins. Frankly I don't understand the whole logic behind doing it at all. For me the idea of introducing virgins has always been plan B that I employ only when there is a glut of ripe cells in relation to the number of cells "in the pipeline".