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This year is the first for me to coax hives into raising queens so I count myself among the least qualified to respond to this.
But... what I did was to remove the queen and then left the bulk of the colony to make cells. I believe that I started the process about four weeks too late as most of the cells were pretty small.
Some mistakes I make twice... I would remove the queen to a nuc and leave the hive with the youngest open brood and eggs. And feed if there isn't a good nectar flow. At least that's my understanding.
I'm working on a second set of cells, but I'm fairly convinced that the quality is poor.
In any case I won't be disappointed.
But... what I did was to remove the queen and then left the bulk of the colony to make cells. I believe that I started the process about four weeks too late as most of the cells were pretty small.
Some mistakes I make twice... I would remove the queen to a nuc and leave the hive with the youngest open brood and eggs. And feed if there isn't a good nectar flow. At least that's my understanding.
I'm working on a second set of cells, but I'm fairly convinced that the quality is poor.
In any case I won't be disappointed.
