2024 revised Queen Introduction Checklist

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OWA Checklist for Re queening an Existing Colony

OUR QUEENS HAVE DIFFERENT PHEROMONES, REQUIRING SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS – BEFORE YOUR QUEENS ARRIVE, WE RECOMMEND:

  • Locating your colonies, at least 50 yards from frequent human & livestock traffic.
  • If available, provide the new queen w drawn comb.
  • Set up your supplemental feeding system prior to installing queens to minimize disturbance;
  • Use proper safety equipment whenever working your colonies:  At a minimum, use head net. It may also be necessary to use a bee suit, gloves, & smoke.
  • Plan whenever possible to work your bees on sunny days when the field bees are out foraging.
  • Provide a constant food source of protein patties and 1:1 sugar syrup to stimulate queens to continue to lay until they naturally shut down for the season.
  • IMPORTANT: DO NOT remove/kill your existing queens until you have your new ones in hand.

A SPECIAL NOTE IF RE QUEENING IN THE FALL – OR DURING A DEARTH IN NECTAR FLOW: AVOID using feed stimulants containing additives like lemongrass, which can contribute to robbing.

WHEN YOUR QUEENS ARRIVE:

  • Keep the Q cages out of the sun, at room temperature, and give one drop of water, taking care NOT to wet the candy. If unable to install promptly …continue to give one drop of water daily.
  • 6-24 HOURS PRIOR TO INTRODUCTION –
  • REMOVE OLD QUEEN and throw the dead queen away from the hive.
  • Check for and remove any VIRGIN QUEENS, and ALL QUEEN CELLS.

AFTER WAITING THE (6-24) HOURS …FOLLOW THESE STEPS TO INTRODUCE THE NEW QUEEN:

  • DO NOT REMOVE THE SCREEN OR POKE A HOLE IN THE TAPE ON WOODEN CAGES.
  • DO NOT REMOVE ATTENDANT BEES FROM CAGES
  • Wedge the queen cage, snugly between 2 frames in the center of the brood nest, candy plug UP, taking care to leave the screen accessible to the bees. NOTE: in a 10-frame box it may be necessary to remove an outside frame then widen the gap between 2 center frames to be able to insert the wooden Koehnan cage below the top bars.

IMPORTANT: RETURN ON THE 4th DAY…

  • By now the bees should NOT be balling the cage: (…acting aggressively; biting the screen etc.) if they are, you may have missed a queen cell, or have a 2nd queen. Carefully reinspect the colony:
  • Remove and carefully set the queen cage aside.
  • Remove one or two outer food frames & set aside.
  • Vigorously shake bees off each BROOD frame back into the box, re-inspecting EACH FRAME CAREFULLY.
  • ELIMINATE ALL QUEEN CELLS
  • Reassemble hive;
  • REMOVE TAPE and reinstall cage between the same 2 BROOD frames. Now allow the bees to quietly release the queen on their own over the next day or two.

DO NOT DISTURB THE COLONY FOR AN ADDITIONAL 7 DAYS – EARLY DISTURBANCE CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF NON-ACCEPTANCE OR SUPERCEDURE!!!