Subject: Requeening a colony with queen cells

From: [email-masked] (ECaldw9669)
Date: 9 Jun 1996 14:56:00 -0400

Does anyone have information or experience with requeening a colony with
queen cells using cell protectors?  We have recently begun trying this
method and are wondering if anyone has used this method and what results
you obtained.

Also, if we don't kill the old queen, when we introduce the queen cell,
what percentage of the time will the virgin queen kill the existing queen?

Ernest Caldwell
Caldwell's Texas Honey
San Antonio, Texas   USA

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From: Dave Black <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 4 Jul 1996 09:56:15 +0100

In article <[email-masked]>, ECaldw9669
<[email-masked]> writes
>what percentage of the time will the virgin queen kill the existing queen?
I'm disappointed not to have seen any replies on this issue yet. I have
tried this with a group of my collegues this summer and we are just
begining to see what happened.
We raised a batch of 10 cells for introduction into various colonies.
They were protected either by home-made spiral wound wire cages or
Sellotape (and both) and the old queens marked. So far we know that four
suceeded in producing new laying queens and await news of the others.
These four go as follows. One (Sellotape) into a nuc resulted in a
mature (we think laying) queen coexisting with the old queen.
Unfortunately a later attempt to mark her resulted in her being balled
by the bees and killed. 
One (Sellotape) into a colony with a three year old queen resulted in
the new queen again coexisting with the old. This has now been divided.
One (Sellotape) into a swarm with a queen of unknown age has emerged and
the old queen has not been seen.
One (wire) emerged two days after insertion into a colony with a three
year old queen. Sixteen days later the new and old queens were both seen
laying on the same frame about 4 cells apart. The old queen has now been
removed into a top-bar log hive together with all the flying bees and
the new left to build for the winter.
For the last week or so the weather has been miserable and cold (this is
England!) and inspection not particularly wise. With hindsight we would
have wanted to leave the pairs of queens together to see how long they
would co-exist but we had planed to use them in observations or the log
where we needed old queens. The rate of co-existence seems quite high
but could all be attributed to the declining old queens. It suggests too
that the bees are more often responsible for killing unwanted queens
rather than queens fighting. My opinion is that with younger queens one
is more likely to kill the other but you could not be sure the survivor
(whichever) would be undamaged, or that (in our climate) the virgin
would properly mate afterwards. If so you need to control this.
Next time ......
Have you any news ? 
-- 
Dave Black
Blacks Bee Gardens, 
Guildford, GU1 4RN.  UK.

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From: [email-masked] (PWestall)
Date: 6 Jul 1996 14:56:26 -0400

I'm sorry you have had little response. From my reading and experience you
need to do this "induced supesedure" idea late in the season, just as the
main flow is ending. That is last week in July or first wek in August
hereabouts (South Staffs). 
I use masking tape as it is so easy to mould once in place. You appreciate
my term in quotes above I assume. 

Christopher