[drlonzo]

Just got my 10 beautiful Russian Queens from Coy's in MS this morning. Now it's time to make some splits and get these girls in their new homes.

 

[jrose1970]

I think the Russian queens sound tougher. I have a survivor colony that is darker in color. They say the russian bees can take the winter better. Will you split and introduce the queens at the same time? I'm asking so that I will know too. They are beautiful; remember Alaxandria?!

 

[Jon B]

Good luck on your splits. I often introduce queens the same day I split the hives and have had good success. Some beekeepers I have talked to suggest it's better to add the queen one or two days later. I have tried both ways and haven't seen any difference. I mainly introduce the queen the same day out of convenience.

 

[drlonzo]

I think the Russian queens sound tougher. I have a survivor colony that is darker in color. They say the russian bees can take the winter better. Will you split and introduce the queens at the same time? I'm asking so that I will know too. They are beautiful; remember Alaxandria?!

Thanks for noticing! To answer the question I will actually be doing some splits tomorrow if the weather holds ok for me. With Russian queens their pharamones are totally diff than those of the italian queens i currently have in the hives, so to introduce these girls to the splits takes a little more time then normal. According to the Russian Honeybee Breeder's Association http://www.russianbreeder.org/ They say to keep her in the hive for 3 days min before removing the cork for the candy end, which should give a 5 day release. Or Just keep her in there for 5 days and do a manual release.

When I make my splits i'm going to make sure there is no larva young enough to make a queen with, and give them plenty of house bees. This should give them a good start.

They are darker in color than the italians, but honestly Russian bees are actually a hybrid that evolved over time in Russia between the Italian, Carniolan, and Caucasian bees. It took 150 years to become what they are today though. They are supposed to have better VSH and Hygenic abilities, and be immune to several other things. Not to mention they are reportedly the best over winter bees there is.

 

[biggraham610]

The pheremones of the Buckfast must have been alot different than the mutt split I introduced her to. They Mauled her QUICK!! I installed the cage after 8 hrs, and released after 4 days.....not long enough.........:no:

 

[drlonzo]

The pheremones of the Buckfast must have been alot different than the mutt split I introduced her to. They Mauled her QUICK!! I installed the cage after 8 hrs, and released after 4 days.....not long enough.........:no:

So did they do that after the 4 days ?

 

[biggraham610]

So did they do that after the 4 days ?

Yeah, they came from a powerful swarm, I dont know if that had anything to do with it or not. I should have waited more but convinced myself they had recieved her. In hindsight I knew better, maybe in another day they would have. I was just nervous because I had already had her in the cage a few days before I made the split and was able to introduce the cage. I will know better next time. It was the first time I was unsuccessful, have had success three previous times, once turned a laying worker hive. Live and Learn. Good Luck with the Russians. G

 

[Deepsouth]

Push in cages work the best in my opinion. It lets the queen start laying which helps with the acceptance. After she lays in all the cells under the push in cage just pull the cage off and she goes right to work. Never remember loosing a queen doing this method.

 

[AstroBee]

They Mauled her QUICK!!

Curious, did you remove the attendants prior to placing the cage into the split?

 

[biggraham610]

Curious, did you remove the attendants prior to placing the cage into the split?

No I didnt, it never occurred to me to try that. I had never done it in the past. Is it a common practice?

 

[AstroBee]

Is it a common practice?

I've found that acceptance percentages go up when attendants are removed. This is particularly true when requeening with different strains.

 

[biggraham610]

I've found that acceptance percentages go up when attendants are removed. This is particularly true when requeening with different strains.

Thank you very much astrobee. I will try that in the future. I am doubtfull all my splits will be successfull in a returning queen. If not I will try that approach should I choose to introduce one instead of combine.