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Thread: Re-queening

  1. #21
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    Kitta, stuff I put in italics are things that I don't know yet. Should a queen have a few attending bees or can you just plonk her in a cage? Does it matter either way?

    I suspect you don't need attending bees. If she's accepted she'll be taken care of while the plug is sorted out.

    Don't let me monopolise the questions, ask away

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    I also have the Snelgrove book that I read a few years ago all it did was confuse me! There are so many permitations to introduction.
    I have used 2 methods. The sheet of newspaper method and using a plastic mailing/introduction cage. Both methods have worked quite well, however they are not 100% foolproof

  3. #23
    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
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    Thanks Gavin, Nellie, Jimbo - I suppose, when I need to introduce a queen again, I'll just follow my instinct as to whether she needs attendants or not, and hope I've made the right choice. Perhaps, as Nellie said, it doesn't matter either way - but I don't understand David Cushman saying to cage her without attendants and that she can be kept there for up to two weeks. In such a case, my instinct would say: 'Give her helpers.'

    Kitta

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    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mellifera Crofter View Post
    In such a case, my instinct would say: 'Give her helpers.'

    Kitta
    I don't think it really matters one way or the other but I leave them in.

    The key thing is that there is no foolproof method of queen introduction which probably explains why there are so many different suggestions. Like a lot of things in life, the trick is to manipulate as many variables as you can in order to move the probability of a successful introduction in your favour.
    It's the same principle as flooding your neighbourhood with good drones. It does not guarantee a successful mating but it swings the odds more in your favour.

  5. #25
    Senior Member fatshark's Avatar
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    I'm pretty sure I've read to NOT add the attending bees - yes, just checked - page 158 of Hooper 4th edition.

    "Queens should always be put into the introduction cages on their own, never with their accompanying workers. These workers may try to defend the queen against strangers and in the end get her killed."

    I reckon Hooper re-queened a few more times than I have and am happy to follow his advice ...

  6. #26
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fatshark View Post

    I reckon Hooper re-queened a few more times than I have and am happy to follow his advice ...
    bet you a fiver he still got some killed on introduction!

  7. #27
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    Snelgrove isn't clear on the question but differs from Hooper. p72:

    The queen may be caged in the hive without attendants. She then has to feed herself with candy and wait for proper food until the hive bees begin to feed her. The same objection holds if she is provided with an escort of newly emerged bees*. It is usual to introduce her with her original escort but for several reasons it is better to provide her with a new cage and candy, and attendants from the stock into which she is to be introduced.

    * newly emerged bees will not have matured hyopharyngeal glands

    The book is full of many complex variations, cataloguing the detail of the methods used by a wide range of people, when simpler recommendations may have been better. I presume that a small sample of bees from the recipient stock is unlikely to contain individuals disposed to pick a fight with her and that is why it is OK to use attendants from there.
    Last edited by gavin; 17-02-2012 at 02:00 AM.

  8. #28
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    This one here:

    http://www.sbai.org.uk/sbai_forum/en...sing-the-Queen

    I just opened the cage and let her walk out.
    She headed that colony for the next year until I lent it to a friend who needed more drone colonies . He requeened it with a Galtee daughter and gave me back my queen in an apidea.
    Hmmm. I need to get that colony and another one back!
    Last edited by Jon; 17-02-2012 at 01:44 AM.

  9. #29
    Senior Member EmsE's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gavin View Post

    The same objection holds if she is provided with an escort of newly emerged bees*. It is usual to introduce her with her original escort but for several reasons it is better to provide her with a new cage and candy, and attendants from the stock into which she is to be introduced.

    The book is full of many complex variations, cataloguing the detail of the methods used by a wide range of people, when simpler recommendations may have been better. I presume that a small sample of bees from the recipient stock is unlikely to contain individuals disposed to pick a fight with her and that is why it is OK to use attendants from there.
    If adding attendants from the reciprient stock to the cage, Would the size of the cage prevent them from attacking the queen, or would it be that the numbers you put in be small enough not to pose a threat to her?

  10. #30
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    I'm guessing of course, but...

    - could be insufficient numbers to damage her
    - could be that a small proportion of bees initiate an attack on the queen, and a few selected for the cage are unlikely to include any
    - could be that workers stuffed in a cage become less aggressive as they are unsettled, worried, nervous
    - maybe, as you say, the size of the cage itself reduces the risk of balling

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