If they are getting a 50% failure rate on acceptance then someone is doing something really wrong.
We place hundreds of new queens in splits and run maybe a one percent to three percent failure to accept rate and that is usually because with that many queens you are bound to get some bad ones. (damaged, weak, stupid or really ugly to the other bees)
Like MB says with packages the queen is usually accepted during transit. With splits try misting the hive with sugar water and lemongrass. That gets the bees licking themselves and the strong smell of the lemongrass erases any lingering pheromones of the old queen. They finish grooming and the smell lessens and presto...new queen smell they readily accept.
We place hundreds of new queens in splits and run maybe a one percent to three percent failure to accept rate and that is usually because with that many queens you are bound to get some bad ones. (damaged, weak, stupid or really ugly to the other bees)
Like MB says with packages the queen is usually accepted during transit. With splits try misting the hive with sugar water and lemongrass. That gets the bees licking themselves and the strong smell of the lemongrass erases any lingering pheromones of the old queen. They finish grooming and the smell lessens and presto...new queen smell they readily accept.
