[3gooddogs]

This spring I am going to split my hive and requeen at the same time. So, the question I have is how long to I let the hive be queenless before installing the new one?
Nikki

 

[BuzzyBee]

I think the standard is 24 hours. I requeened a hive last year that was queenless for at least a month and she was accepted, but I wouldn't recommend you wait that long.

BB

 

[BEES4U]

Slip a queen excluder between the two brood chambers, wait 4 days because eggs hatch in 3, look for eggs and natural queen cells as they tell you where the queen is located, insert your new queen into the queenlees hive body after you have destrored natural cells, wait 10 days to check for the new queens acceptance and good luck!
The bees will take a new queen if they are queenless overnight.
Ernie

 

[Specialkayme]

... insert your new queen into the queenlees hive body after you have destrored natural cells ...
The bees will take a new queen if they are queenless overnight.
Ernie

I would recommend this process, except I would make sure I keep her in the cage, and let the little girls chew through the candy. Most bees will take a new queen if they are queenless overnight, but not all of them. I don't know about you, but I hate seeing $20 get stung to death.

 

[BEES4U]

I don't know about you, but I hate seeing $20 get stung to death.

you can leave the excluder on for a few more days.

You can release the attendant bees prior to intruduction.
I can get a 90% plus queen acceptance using the excluder.
others will probably chime in as we wentt over this topic last spring. But, it's refreashing to get it in motion again.
How about insert the queen cage instead of insert, I did not say to directly release the queen.
Ernie

 

[Specialkayme]

I did not say to directly release the queen.
Ernie

I was just making sure

 

[Allen Dick]

Queen acceptance depends on a lot of things. Small hives accept better than large ones. Hives on a flow or feed accept better than hives on a dearth. Robbing will make acceptance difficult.

Also, young bees accept better than old ones, so if you are moving one half across the yard, move the one which will get the queen, since the older bees will drift out to the other half...

 

[Michael Palmer]

I like to requeen by creating a 2 queen colony. Use the top brood box as your nuc. It must have honey and brood in all stages.

Remove any supers. Remove the frames from the top brood box, shaking off all the bees as you go. Remove empty box. Replace supers.

Place excluder on supers, then empty top brood box, then honey and brood frames in original order. Cover overnight.

Next day replace excluder with inner cover...escape hole taped closed, rim up entrance notch to rear of hive. Give caged queen.

Old bees fly below, young bees accept queen easily. Leave queen for 3 weeks to establish broodnest and increase the total number of frames of brood in the colony...2 queens laying. Go below and kill old queen(s) and unite.

 

[BEES4U]

Next day replace excluder with inner cover...escape hole taped closed, rim up entrance notch to rear of hive. Give caged queen.

Old bees fly below, young bees accept queen easily. Leave queen for 3 weeks to establish broodnest and increase the total number of frames of brood in the colony...2 queens laying. Go below and kill old queen(s) and unite.

Some of us use split boards too.
:scratch:
the original question adressed re-queening and making a divide.
Another method is caled re-queening without de-queening.
Ernie

 

[Michael Palmer]

the original question adressed re-queening and making a divide. Ernie

I see, now that I've re-read the post. He could split the hive and still requeen without de-queening. I really like the idea of having 2 queens laying for added population. Also...how many times have you requeened only to find the new queen isn't very good. Having 2 queens laying allows you to check the new queen before killing the old.

I do some direct requeening, but mostly with nucs.

 

[Allen Dick]

> Having 2 queens laying allows you to check the new queen before killing the old.

I never bother killing the old one unless I see here and she is obviously no good. Otherwise, I figure the bees know best.

 

[Michael Palmer]

True, but why are you requeening in the first place? Because you have decided the queen is obviously no good?

 

[Allen Dick]

I thought we were talking about splitting, raising a new queen in top, then recombining -- basically two-queening for a time.