The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Bees & Beekeeping => Topic started by: Greenerlife on June 26, 2015, 07:23:44 am
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OK - never had to do this before. I currently have a hive that has thousands of quite contented pollen collecting bees and stores and honey left after a massive swarming. I thought I still had a queen but she has obviously not survived, so my new Queen arrives in the post tomorrow. Any advice out there as to how to do it?
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Hi I have just received a Queen in the post from beckys beezzzs have a look at their website it is very helpful
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It seems there are a lot of differing opinions but that site is very helpful - thanks! Wait until tomorrow when she arrives and see what he company I bought from recommends (and what she comes in, and with whom! ;D )
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I think that bees by post is very funny for some reason.
We have had queens sent a couple of times and they happily live in their little cell inside a jiffy bag and you can hear them buzzing about.
Sorry I can't answer your questions though as OH is the bee keeper here
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First thing to do if you suspect you have no queen is to give them what is known as a test frame, this is simply a frame with eggs on it from another colony. If they start to build queen cells a few days after putting this in then they have no queen. By simply thinking you have no queen and then introducing a bought in one risks the loss of that new queen if the other kills it.
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Well - what a palaver! She arrived in the post, (held out at arms length by Brian the postie :roflanim: ) with her ladies in waiting and the first instruction was to "separate the queen from the workers using a plastic bag". You should have seen me! Trying to prise open the tiny little cage she arrived in, encourage them all out, then get the queen back in! I was all dressed up ready for beekeeping on one of the hottest days of the year and, I know ladies don't sweat, but boy was I perspiring! Finally got it all done and went to the hive. By this time the cage had voluntarily opened again (how come it was so bloody difficult to open in the first place?) and I had to get the queen back in it again, and release her ladies. Then put the cage (after dousing in sugar syrup) in the lower brood box (I work off two). Next day went back to take off the tape covering the candy in the cage, and the bees were really calm and the buzz was united. It was really weird - they had changed in a day.
Today is the day I should go and check for egg laying but the weather is not too clever at the moment....fingers crossed that I have a result!
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:fc:
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Well - it appears to have worked! :excited: Happy happy! Weather is nice and sunny now, so off I went - and there are lots of new eggs and brood. Huzzah!