Recently I purchased an extra queen thinking the hive was queenless. Low and behold by the time the queen arrived there was ample signs of brood and honey stores and pollen. So . . . I took 2 frames of brood/nectar mix and the bees on the frame and one frame of honey/pollen mix with the bees on the frame and put them into a new hive box along with the new queen in her queen cage. I uncorked the cage and replaced the cork with a marshmallow since the queen's attendants had already made a dent in the sugar. They have been together (without being able to leave the hive) with a paint can of 1:1 sugar syrup on the hive for 3 days. Is that long enough for the bees to accept the new queen as their own? Can I open the hive again after 3 days of their being together and expect the bees in the new hive to stay there and not move back to their original hive?
Thanks for the feedback.
Thanks for the feedback.