Sounds like something to try soon. I'm on the swarm list here in Toowoomba so may have some to try this with next year.
Just checked my split from last Friday and can't believe the difference in the temperament in my nuc with my introduced Italian queen.
The remaining hive left over from the split is still fairly aggressive ( one was attacking my veil as soon as I got out of the car about 10 metres from the hive. Glad I put the gear on in the car. )
But the nuc with the introduced queen, has taken on her quiet nature, and she is not out of the cage yet.
When we got her in the mail, we thought she was dead. No sound from the package at all. But she was just so quiet. she and her attendants were just milling around in the cage like ants.
If she holds this docile nature, she will be my breeding queen for sure.
One question i have about the breeding from our own queens is, how do they not get inbred after some years. Is it that the virgin queens may mate with other drones from other colonies within flying range?
I'm just thinking, if i start with one queen and breed from her only in my yard, all generations must be her offspring. So her daughters will be mating with her descendant males.
Just a thought....