Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => REQUEENING & RAISING NEW QUEENS => Topic started by: tedlemay on April 23, 2012, 08:33:38 pm
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Have been replacing a queen in a queenless hive. I cut out all the queen cells and added the new queen. Checked in 4 days and she was still in her cage, the girls had built 4 more queen cells and capped them (in 4 days). Removed cells and going to wait 2 more days.
#1 Is it common for the workers to continue to build queen cells after you put in a new queen? If I release her will they kill her?
#2 Is it common for them to cap a queen cell in 4 days? (there could not have been eggs there, but very young larve)
Thanks for the advise!
Teddy
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>Have been replacing a queen in a queenless hive. I cut out all the queen cells and added the new queen.
Why didn't you just let them finish the queens they were making?
>Checked in 4 days and she was still in her cage, the girls had built 4 more queen cells and capped them (in 4 days). Removed cells and going to wait 2 more days.
?
>#1 Is it common for the workers to continue to build queen cells after you put in a new queen?
Not if she is making enough pheromones.
>If I release her will they kill her?
Are they biting the cage?
>#2 Is it common for them to cap a queen cell in 4 days? (there could not have been eggs there, but very young larve)
They can start with a hatched larvae and yes, they would cap it four days later.
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmath.htm (http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmath.htm)
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no, they are not bitting the cage. they keep it covered but are not agressive toward her. we cut all the cells out again and are going to wait another 2 days. How long can she stay in the cage without harming her?
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you might consider for next time that you have 100% odds of them accepting a queen that they have raised, and very good odds that they will have chosen and nurtured a good one. you'll also save yourself money and work.
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Unless you don't want the genetics of the queen cells, there is no reason to remove them. You are doing a lot of work for nothing. If the bees don't like the caged queen, let them raise their own.
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>How long can she stay in the cage without harming her?
I've banked queens for months to see and I can't see any harm. But the hive needs a laying queen.
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Thats the point, I am trying to change the genetics of this hive.