# Release queen from cage or wait?



## jdesq (Jul 27, 2009)

I picked up and installed 3 packages yesterday afternoon. I left the queen in her cage with the cork in it . I was told to wait 2 to 3 days before releasing her. Later in the day I talked to another beekeeper and he said I should release her right away. His thinking is that the bees and the queen have already been together for at least 3 days ( they came from california). What is the consensus on this ( if it's possible to get a consenus from beekeepers )


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## concrete-bees (Jun 20, 2009)

id wait for the 3 extra days 

but what you really need to do is hold the cage up with the bees on the outside still there... and WATCH the worker bees -- if they are sticking there tounges in through the wire mesh they will most likely take her 

if they are biting at the wire - they do not want her 
if they are biting at the wire - first thing to do is lift frames and check REALLY good for a loose queen 

if no queen or eggs are found then put the caged queen back in with a solid cork for 3 more days - then check again at this point they should be trying to feed her 

hope this helps


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## Countryboy (Feb 15, 2009)

If the queen cage has a cork on the candy end, remove that cork when you install the package. Stick a nail or wire or small stick through the candy to make it easier for the bees to release the queen.

If the queen has not been released after 2 or 3 days, then you can release her into the hive. (make sure she doesn't fly away.) Either remove the candy, or remove the cork on the opposite end of the cage from the candy and put the cage back into the hive and close the hive up.


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## mike haney (Feb 9, 2007)

it dont really matter much-3 days is not that big a deal when it takes nearly a month to get hatched bees from a new queen,so follow the wait advice, or release her if you're antsy. good luck,mike


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## Cordovan Italian Bee (Oct 27, 2009)

We take the plug out of the candy end and see if they are out in three days,if not poke a hole in the candy. Spray the cage with suggar water when you put them in the hive,it covers the queen scent and they except her much better.


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

It will take a couple days to chew through the candy. If you have a cork over the candy they cannot even start. The candy is designed as the best delayed release.


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## jdesq (Jul 27, 2009)

There is no candy, just a cork.


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## Swobee (May 18, 2007)

jdesq said:


> There is no candy, just a cork.


They're not going to chew through the cork, so try the following easy steps:

- take a pocket knife or other tool to pop the cork out 
- place and hold your finger over the opening to keep queen in cage 
- insert a small marshmallow into the cork opening
- optional = smear a tiny amount of honey on the queen cage screen
(As the bees lick honey from the cage screen wires, they also pick up small amounts of her pheremone and spread it throughout the colony. That could help lead to overall better acceptance.) 

They should chew through the marshmallow in a couple of days to release their new royal captive. 

As mentioned earlier, first watch how the bees react to the queen's cage so you know if there is even a chance of her working out before going through too much trouble.


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## fish_stix (May 17, 2009)

Pull the cork and push a little marshmallow in the cork hole and replace the cage with the hole facing up.


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

Re:
Your queen in the one hole cage that was shipped with your packages.

Your supplier went through a lot of critical steps to provide you with those packages.
So, be patient and let them settle down for at least three, 3, days.
The bees need to orientate to your area to seek out pollen and nectar supplies. They need to draw out some of the foundation or clean out the old comb.
Your queen acceptance is higher with syrup feeding too.
Replace the cork with a marshmellow.
A single queen replacement could be difficult because of shortages.
Good luck, patience and remember that it took 30 days to make that mated queen.
BTW: I bought a bag of plastic candy tubes that go with those one hole queen cages. They are plastic tubing that's used for drip irrigation or mini sprinklers.
Ernie


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## Cordovan Italian Bee (Oct 27, 2009)

jdesq said:


> There is no candy, just a cork.


If they been in there long enough to eat all the candy,let them out or they will be dead with nothing to eat. By this time the bees will except the queen.


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

This is not a candy cage,

Ernie


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