[Axtmann]

Rooter don’t panic. Bees living on earth for more than 65 million years without humans, if you not sure what to do give them enough room and let them do what they like.

Mount the cage on a top bar from an empty frame and place the lady in the middle of the hive. Put a 1cm / 1/2inch foundation strip beside the cage on the top bar. After 3 days your bees should have build combs on this strip. If this is happen you can open the cage and plug the hole with a candy. The bees help her madam out in a few hours and she can start laying eggs. Inspect again in 2 weeks and you will find lots of brood.

If you can’t see that your bees building combs beside the cage that means there is something wrong. The colony already has a new, maybe virgin queen from a hidden queen cell. Even this is no problem, shake all bees not far from your hive into the grass and let them fly back. The other queen, if there is one, has no orientation and can’t find the way back. She is left in the grass with a hand full of bees and easy to find. Put her in an empty nuc with the hand full bees if you nee her. Now go the next day and open the cage with your queen and plug the hole with a candy like I said before.

Read a good book and look for an “older” beekeeper in your neighborhood. Listening to him and steal with your eyes as much as you can.

Good luck and happy beekeeping

 

[Guest]

I guess i got my queen killed. I pulled the cork from the queen cage as i put her into the hive. i was thinking it would take 3-days to eat through the sugar to get her out. I'm going to wait until next Saturday, that will be one week before i go in looking for her. this hobby is just like going back to college, lots to learn. i'm having a great time of it this go round.

 

[Axtmann]

If they killed your queen, or you not sure, put a comb with eggs and larva in the middle, don’t even let the workers think to lay eggs!
A queen less colony will start right a way with new queen cells and during this time of the year you shouldn’t waste to much time. When they breed a new queen it will take approx 29 days before the queen is in FULL action.
If a second queen is available you can put her in the hive as soon as you can see swarm cells on the egg frame. …..as a beginner always go the save way with an cage on a frame and the 3 days waiting as I told you before. Bees can open the candy in a few hours and this is often not enough time to accept her.