# Update on swarmy splits with caged queens



## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

To make some splits, and to hopefully decrease the odds of a swarm,I removed 9 frames of bees from a hive FULL of swarm cells. No queen cells were capped in the donor hive, and although I couldn't find the queen, I did shake them out through and excluder to help ensure that she didn't make her way into a split. 

I had purchased 3 mated treatment free queens and timed my splits to coincide with their arrival. I placed the caged queens in the splits 4 hours after splitting the hive. I did not open the candy end of the cage. After 2 days I went back in to each split to check for newly formed queen cells. All 3 splits had multiple new queen cells. I tore them down then waited 3 more days. By this time the queens had been in their cages inside the nucs for 5 days. Two of the cages had one dead attendant laying in the cage atop the candy plug. I decided to make queen introduction cages. I tore down queen cells again and placed the queens and attendants in the cages and pushed it into a frame in each nuc. I put the queens in the cages on Monday and decided to release them yesterday. The first two were well accepted by the bees in the hive. The got immediate attention and were being courted as they walked over the comb. In the 3rd nuc I found 2 more queen cells so I left that queen in her cage, tore down the cells and will release her this weekend.

This was my first time to make a split using bees in swarm mode. I have read several different places that bees won't accept a new queen if they have made a queen cell from their own hive. It was my first attempt at using a queen introduction cage but I think it definitely helped have the queen laying eggs in a frame before she was released.


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