Eggs for starters?

[Kate Atchley]

We're seeking to build up the Ardnamurchan Amm stocks after winter losses and SNHBS is testing distribution of eggs as well as queen cells for queen rearing this season.

I'm being offered eggs by some Amm beekeepers who don't live nearby but how do I go about having them accepted?

As I understand it, introducing eggs from an unfamiliar colony to a cell raiser colony will result in them being eaten or destroyed. Once the eggs hatch into larvae they give off the "feed me" pheromone so have a good chance of being accepted and fed. But, if I wait until the eggs hatch, the larvae surely risk starving, drying out or/and becoming damaged before they are introduced and fed in the cell-raiser?

Or shall I just try introducing eggs, having give the cell-raiser 7-9 days to clear any potential queen raising material already in the colony?

Please share any experience/knowledge you may have to help us with this.