[pahvantpiper]

A couple years ago I met a beekeeper from Montana that makes all his increases indoors and if I'm not mistaken leaves them indoors for a few days or a week??. He says it increases his queen acceptance rate.

Spring of 2009 I had terrible queen acceptance and am considering starting all of my packages and nucs indoors. Does anyone have experience with this and have any thoughts or suggestions? I guess you'd have to cover the windows. I wonder about air, is a 60X90 building big enough for, say, starting a few hundred packages without introducing air into the building? Thank you for any suggestions.

 

[Keith Jarrett]

Spring of 2009 I had terrible queen acceptance .

Rob,ever try any HBH when intruducing.

 

[pahvantpiper]

I've used HBH when requeening but not when making up nucs or installing packages. I'll use it this spring, thanx.

 

[Skinner Apiaries]

I started a large number of italian hives, some II VSH and Russian queens all on yellow bees with full acceptance. (They were marked so I know they were accepted on inspection). I spray all my frames of bees and brood with a light mist of light syrup mixed with some peppermint extract. Works really well. I split the hives, mark queens, spray them too, and put her on a top bar. She crawls in, and in 2 weeks I go in, and there she is. The II queens are black bees and theyre acceptance by Yellow Italians are harder, and they still had 100%. But thats only out of the 28 hives I split and started this year.

 

[RayMarler]

I've heard of that method. Put them in the basement for up to three days, entrances screened with feeders on them. I would think it should work in your warehouse/shop, if you make it dark in there, but I'm just guessing.