# re-queening - time between kill old queen and new queen



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I like to dequeen late one afternoon and introduce the queen the next morning. That way they won't get a queen cell too far along, but they know they are queenless.

If you want a fairly sure thing do this and put the queen in a push in cage. If you want a more sure thing, make a small nuc with a couple of frames of brood and introduce the queen to the nuc. Then after the queen is laying put the nuc over a double screen board for a few days and then do a newspaper combine.


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## Gregg (Dec 22, 2003)

I agree, I like to wait overnight, somewhere between 12 - 24 hours.


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## Aspera (Aug 1, 2005)

The push-in cage is champ for queen introduction. I won't say "it never fails", but it is really hard to beat.


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## FordGuy (Jul 10, 2005)

Mr. Bush, sorry for not knowing the lingo but is a push in cage the thing the queen comes in? I have seen teh wooden ones and plastic ones...those ok?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

http://www.honeyflowfarm.com/beeproject/pushincagelarge.htm
http://www.honeyflowfarm.com/beeproject/beeproject.htm
http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/~vista/html_pubs/BEEKEEP/CHAPT6/chapt6.html
http://beelab.osu.edu/afterthoughts/downloads/nucleus%20queen%20introduction.pdf#search='queen%20push%20in%20cage'
http://www.ksbabeekeeping.org/beeline.htm

Search for "push in cage"


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## GaSteve (Apr 28, 2004)

I requeened my Italians this fall with NWCs. I left them queenless for 24 hours before introducing the queen cages. The queens were released after a day or two and began to lay. The bees built queen cells for over two weeks -- all while the new queens were laying perfect brood patterns. All the marked NWC queens are still there except one -- must have missed a queen cell. I will definitely try the push in cage next time.

[ January 01, 2006, 07:20 PM: Message edited by: GaSteve ]


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## FordGuy (Jul 10, 2005)

just saw something in the third link - I did NOT remove the attendant bees before introduction - did I make a blunder only a novice woul dmake? is this the reason the cage was balled?


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## Joel (Mar 3, 2005)

I would put out feed if if I was requeening in your area this time of year. It will give the cranky field workers something to do while the nurse bees are busy accepting the queen. It is good to remove the attendants! I would not release her until she is accepted (being feed through the screen).


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## Fusion_power (Jan 14, 2005)

The most common error I've seen when re-queening is having a natural 2 queen colony, killing one queen, and missing the second. Over the years, I've had an average of about 1 colony in 20 that was a natural 2 queen in July/August. This was always a mother/daughter pair.

While its not necessary to remove attendants, the queen will be accepted faster if you do.

If you want to make a real newbie error, try releasing the queen from a shipping cage and getting her into the push in cage. If she is un-clipped, she will almost always fly. Bye Bye $$$ queeen!

Fusion


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>just saw something in the third link - I did NOT remove the attendant bees before introduction - did I make a blunder only a novice woul dmake? is this the reason the cage was balled? 

I seldom remove the attendants. I seldom use a push in cage. Usually I just pop the cork off the candy end and put her in (12 hours after removing the old queen). Usually this works fine. But removing the attendants will stack the deck in your favor. Using a push in cage will stack it further.


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## tony350i (Jul 29, 2005)

A UK queen breeder I rang about buying some queens for this year said if you make the bees want a queen then you stack the odds in your favour especially if you wait until they have capped all there larvae,


just a thought


Tony


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## FordGuy (Jul 10, 2005)

so how do you get her from the shipping container into the queen push in cage?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

There is always the risk of the queen flying when you release her. But usually if there is a comb to walk out on she will walk out onto that. Usually you release her by poping out the cork (not the candy end), hold your finger over the hole and holding the push in cage over some emerging brood with one end on the comb and the other up in the air and the shipping cage under edge of the push in cage. You remove your finger and she crawls out (maybe quickly or maybe after a few minutes) and if she tries to fly she hits the cage. She will usually not run out too fast. Just slide the shiping cage out and gently set down the edge of the push in cage.


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## Smok'em (Jul 7, 2003)

I usally introduce the new Queen on the same trip out to the yard. Depending on what I have to do the time between squishing the old Queen and introducing the new one is about an hour. The new queen is in standard shipping cage with the attendants removed. I remove the cork to let them at the candy so it takes a day or more before the Queen comes out. My Queens are usally marked so I can tell if they have been accepted. It has been working well. The other factor that I feel makes a big difference is to do this while there is a flow on. I hope this helps.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

If I have to drive a long ways I try to shoot for two hours. Remove the queens. Eat lunch. Kill some time and introduce the new ones in a candy cage.







Sometimes I'm impatient and it is only an hour. But if it's close by I like overnight.


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## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

Dr. Marla Spivak, speaking at the Northwest Corner Beekeepers Conference gave some interesting advice about new queens flying off.
She said that if you release a queen and it flys, STAND STILL!
As the queen flys from the cage, she orients to her location, the hive, YOU, and should return after flying several large circles.
The problem is that when beekeepers loose a queen they are running around trying to keep track of her in flight and the queens landmarks have dissappeared.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I've done the "stand still" method many times. She often lands ON you. I've found her on my veil, my arm, my glove. And even if I stand for several minutes and never see her, if I wait a while she's usually back in the hive.


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## Aspera (Aug 1, 2005)

Great tip! It would not have occured to me just to stay put. Must be an ADHD thing


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## wfarler (Jul 9, 2003)

When you squish the old queen drop her into a vial of alcohol. Makes a good swarm lure bait.


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