Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => REQUEENING & RAISING NEW QUEENS => Topic started by: qa33010 on July 04, 2005, 02:40:25 am

Title: queen a partial swarm?
Post by: qa33010 on July 04, 2005, 02:40:25 am

I really need your advise on this.  I have the opportunity to get a partial swarm.  By partial I mean more than half of the swarm was recovered...a small amount had taken off.  Those that stayed behind have no queen and after inspection appear to be active and pest free, they just don't have direction.  Should I try and order an Italian Queen or have the other beekeeper (couple months newer than me and I have no hive, but am getting time with her girls when she works them) try and combine them?

Title: queen a partial swarm?
Post by: qa33010 on July 04, 2005, 02:49:53 am

Wait a minute I just remembered... she has four (I think) queen cells that we found 2 weeks ago, they were capped then.  She had tried to requeen this hive about a week +- before and we couldn't find the queen, that's when I asked if the large cells were queen.  She found through another local beekeeper that yes they were.  The cells were not there before the requeening attempt.  The other hive's queen was found and busy laying.  Can we cut one of these cells out and put it in the partial swarms nuc and hope for the best?  Or am I just a bunch of wind?  Thanks!

Title: queen a partial swarm?
Post by: Michael Bush on July 04, 2005, 01:25:55 pm

>Can we cut one of these cells out and put it in the partial swarms nuc and hope for the best?

Of course you can.  Or pull the whole frame (careful not to take the queen).  I try to wait until the cells get darker before cuting because they are so fragile when the wax is brand new and they are just capped.