[mjbeefriends]

I have three hives and wanted to requeen them.
On April 25 I eliminated the three queens
April 26 installed new queens
April 27 I realized I should of positioned the queen cages horizontally instead of vertically so I entered the hives and positioned queen cages correctly
May 6, yesterday, I went into hives looking for eggs, two hives had great patterns of eggs, one hive had no eggs and I didn't see the new queen but I did see queen cells.
I don't know why she wasn't accepted but I realize there's a myriad of possibilities. What should I do? The bees are a little nasty and I'd still like to requeen, should I just install another queen and eliminate the queen cells and hope for the best?
Thanks

 

[ericweller]

If it were me, I would let them make their own queen.

 

[tom0354]

if you destroy all the queen cell now, they won't be able to make another queen since most larva is too old for that. Double check to make sure all the queen cells are destroyed and then you can introduce a new queen.

 

[tom0354]

If it were me, I would let them make their own queen.

You missed the part where the hive is "little nasty", having them making their own will end up with the same issue that is trying to solve

 

[ericweller]

"Little nasty" could be an environmental factor versus genetic. Bees tend to be cranky when they are queenless. Besides, that is why a bee jacket is used.

 

[Groundhwg]

"Little nasty" could be an environmental factor versus genetic. Bees tend to be cranky when they are queenless. Besides, that is why a bee jacket is used.

Not everybody wants to have to wear a bee jacket and/or gloves. If the bees are mean there is no real reason to put up with it if you can change them.

 

[Fivej]

I am not saying that this caused rejection, but I wouldn't have gone in the hive to "fix" the cage. I have seen conflicting advice on how to install the cage by experienced beekeepers with good queen acceptance. The only "universal" rule if there is such a thing is to have the cork/candy up if you position it vertically to prevent dead attendants from blocking her exit. Perhaps that was what you were worried about. J

 

[bushpilot]

I would not have pinched the old queens until I knew that the new have sucessfully joined the colony. A queen in a nuc is pretty handy at times.

At this point, the quick fix is to remove the queen cells, and introduce another queen. The longer and cheaper fix is to let them raise their own. Either can suceed, and either can fail.

It depends on what you want.