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Author Topic: laying workers and nuc.  (Read 1556 times)

Offline achunter

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laying workers and nuc.
« on: April 27, 2010, 10:18:58 pm »
Alright so i have a hive with laying workers. I ordered a queen that i am going to use to save the bees of lay laying worker colony. Im going to take 2 frames of brood and a frame of honey and put it into a hive body. I will then add the queen to this colony after it has sat a day without a queen. Now my question is, should i let the queen come out before i put the hive in the place of the laying worker colony and shaking all the bees from the laying worker colony out in the feild so they fly back into my new nuc i made oooor should i shake the bees out and let them fly back to a caged queen?

Offline asprince

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Re: laying workers and nuc.
« Reply #1 on: April 27, 2010, 10:32:19 pm »
I would keep to queen caged during the process, they may kill her. Good luck, I have had mixed results with shaking out a laying worker hive.

If you have several other hives, I would shake the bees out and let them be homeless, meaning no hive in the original location to return to. They will find a new home in your other hives. In a day or two, you could pull bees from the other hives and start a nuc with my new queen.

Steve
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Online Michael Bush

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Re: laying workers and nuc.
« Reply #2 on: April 28, 2010, 01:02:08 am »
Introducing a queen to laying workers is usually a futile desperate attempt to save a hive.  A frame of open brood every week for three weeks will work every time.  Introducing a queen fails almost every time... if you put her on some emerging worker brood from another hive and add a frame of open brood, you may have a chance.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslayingworkers.htm
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Offline Grandma_DOG

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Re: laying workers and nuc.
« Reply #3 on: April 28, 2010, 01:01:13 pm »
Miller long ago found the solution was to minimize the stress on the beekeeper from a laying worker. Ruthlessly break up the hive and put it in others.  You can always make a new nuc from other hives to replace it.
Here is my new book on Swarm Trapping at http://learningbeekeeping.com/beekeeping-articles/how-to-swarm-trap/ and follow me on youtube at OutOfaBlueSky

Offline Kathyp

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Re: laying workers and nuc.
« Reply #4 on: April 28, 2010, 01:41:30 pm »
i have to agree.  not worth messing with if you have other hives.  walk your hive out away from the others.  shake it all out.  put the box they came out of in the barn.  the bees will join your other hives and make them stronger. 
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.