# Splitting and introducing new (AI) queen to a different location



## bolantay (2 mo ago)

In our country, its hard to get naturally mated queens for millifera bees so we mostly depend on artificially inseminated ones. My question is, how do I split a hive to a new location (1km away) and introduce a new queen?

I heard its safe to get a maximum of 3 frames (brood in all stages and food) so the newly introduced queen wont be killed. Do I shake the bees off so I know there are only nurse bees left in the new hive? If not, wont the forager bees just return to the old location?

Its my first time doing a split so I am not sure what works.. Appreciate any insights


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## ursa_minor (Feb 13, 2020)

I think the recommended distance is farther than 1km if you want the foragers to stay. That said, yes the foragers return to the old location that is why you shake in extra bees from a frame or two so the population of nurse bees is high. 
You don't have to shake the bees off the frames of brood when you place them in the new hive, the nurse bees will stay the foragers will leave. 

I routinely do splits within the same apiary only a distance of 15 feet away from the original hive. I usually do a split where I take more bees to the new location than I leave at the old simply to account for the foragers returning home.


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## crofter (May 5, 2011)

If it is an AI queen and expensive you should take advantage of as many "safer" methods as you can. Smaller colonies are more accepting so the three frame choice would be good. Having the older foragers return has advantage as it leaves the more accepting younger bees behind. A good method to get higher percentage of nurse bees would be to put the potential nuc frames above an excluder for a while before moving them away. Make sure there is stored pollen on some of the frames

It would be an advantage to separate those frames long enough so that there is no viable eggs or larvae young enough for the nuc to start their own emergency cells from; six days would be good insurance. Installing the new queen in a press in introduction cage rather than the candy release queen introduction methods, is considered very good insurance. 

Since the nuc will have virtually no foragers for a while, a frame feeder is a good idea; very small entrance to reduce rob out risk.


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## birddog (May 10, 2016)

In addition to the above place the push in cage on an emerging brood frame as the brood emerges thay accept the queen immediately and tend her soon after and clean cells . Ensure thay have food avaliable under the caged area


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## crofter (May 5, 2011)

birddog said:


> In addition to the above place the push in cage on an emerging brood frame as the brood emerges thay accept the queen immediately and tend her soon after and clean cells . Ensure thay have food avaliable under the caged area


The queen can start laying immediately; a laying queen is much more readily accepted than one that may have been banked or off-lay for a period of time. The first bees to contact the queen will be the newly emerging ones, not old foragers! 

A push in introduction cage can be made up in a very few minutes from a piece of #8 mesh screen.


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## Ryan Williamson (Feb 28, 2012)

Introducing freshly instrumentally inseminated breeder queens


This year we started offering untested, or not yet laying II'd VSH breeder queens. These are VSH daughter queens that are II'd to a blend of drones from our top colonies that tested very high on Harbo's VSH assay. All test colonies have thrived at least a full season, survived winter, and...




www.stevensbeeco.com


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## bolantay (2 mo ago)

ursa_minor said:


> I think the recommended distance is farther than 1km if you want the foragers to stay. That said, yes the foragers return to the old location that is why you shake in extra bees from a frame or two so the population of nurse bees is high.
> You don't have to shake the bees off the frames of brood when you place them in the new hive, the nurse bees will stay the foragers will leave.
> 
> I routinely do splits within the same apiary only a distance of 15 feet away from the original hive. I usually do a split where I take more bees to the new location than I leave at the old simply to account for the foragers returning home.



Definitely something I didn't know until now (the adding of nurse bees) - This is so helpful! I just did the split a week ago, and upon checking they did accept the queen. So thank you all for the replies!! Appreciate it!


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