[davemal]

I am in mid-MD. The flow is on. A production colony has three honey supers over to deep brood boxes. The colony is queenless. How do I introduce a new queen? Italian mutts. Should I remove the supers, insert the cage in top brood chamber after removing cork from candy end, and then replace honey supers? Then go back in after a week to check that queen is released and remove the old cage? (BTW, top HS 50% capped, middle HS 20% and bottom HS only filled with nectar (no capping yet).)

 

[Clayton Huestis]

Yes, just like you say will work. How did they become queenless? Make sure they haven't started cells or have a virgin in there or your queen will be rejected.

 

[JWPalmer]

Doing the same thing myself right now. Tried a frame of eggs two weeks ago but got nothing. Installed an about to emerge queen cell center frame top brood chamber. Put the supers back on cause the girls are filling them up. This hive swarmed about a month ago based on emerged swarm cells. No mated queen however.

 

[davemal]

Yes, just like you say will work. How did they become queenless? Make sure they haven't started cells or have a virgin in there or your queen will be rejected.

I had tried the technique of first adding a HS of foundation plus two HS of drawn comb. The first HS of foundation is supposed to keep the queen from going up into the comb, so acts like a QE in effect. But the bees must have drawn the foundation enough to make the queen comfortable enough to scamper right up and through it and into the two HS of drawn comb where she laid in both of them. I shook, and shook and shook to ensure all bees were down in the brood chambers. Then I added a QE and then the three Honey supers. Then my queen was gone a few weeks later. Maybe I offed her in the shaking process. Ugh. Happened three times, not just this once.

 

[challenger]

If a hive is queen less for a short period of time introducing a frame of eggs and open brood WILL cause the bees to make queen cells. If they don't then there is indeed a queen.
Personally I have that is definitely queen less will accept a new queen very easily if there is a flow. I'd just put the queen in a cage and observe the behavior of the bees that surround the cage. If they look aggressive toward the cage then keep the queen in the cage for a day or two. If the bees go to the queen and appear to be looking to feed and accept it let the queen out. Jmoho