[jrannestad]

Bear got my hives earlier this year. Installed two new packages a little over a week ago. These are my only hives now. I ordered three queens earlier this year before the bear came because I anticipated splitting my overwintered hives, which are now dead. For plan B, I want to use the three queens to split the packages but in case they dont build up enough is there an easy way to store the queens for two or three weeks to allow the package hives to build up sufficiently to split? I read you can put the cages in a honey super above an excluder somehow. What the best way to store them?

 

[Vance G]

Temporarily for a week or two I lay queens on the top bars screen down above a queen excluder. The attendants don't last long but the queens get fed enough to stay alive. But queens banked in that manner have a limited shelf life. Banking them with queenless open brood will result in a lot better care of the caged queens. You might consider moving frames of wet brood up above a queen excluder jigle shake or brush the bees off to keep the queen where she belongs and nurse bees will come up to care for the brood.

Better option would be to sell the spares. I bet you would have no problem at all.