Introducing a queen to a hive with queen cells

[Fishing-Nut]

I released a queen into a queenless hive a couple days ago and shes doing fine. The hive has a few queen cells. What will happen...

[van from Arkansas]

Fish, just last week, I did the same, sorta : released a mature queen in a hive with queen cells.  I direct released a mature queen and as expected the queen was accepted and queen cells torn down.  Understand, this was a one year old mature queen.  A virgin queen or newly mated queen would be different according to Brother Adam.  I was repeating, a second time, a technique that Brother Adam developed.

[TheHoneyPump]

If the queen is laying she MAY be fine.  Check back every 5 to 7 days and destroy any and all queen cells.  It may take up to 3 weeks for the bees to stop drawing cells, if they havent killed her by then.  After that if they are still drawing cells then must realize that They do not like her and never will.  She has to be deemed defective at that point.  Pull her and put somewhere else or simply kill her.  Give the hive a new one or let them raise their own.

[sc-bee]

I rarely deal with a virgin queen introduction. Help me out here. I just introduced a virgin queen to a swarm with stumpy cells. I did not take the cells out it was raining at the time so I just walked her in. Will the virgin not kill the other queen cells? Do I need to go in an tear the cells down?

Can someone list some dos and dont's:
introducing a virgin to a queenless hive
introducting a virgin to a queenless hive with cells
introducing a virgin in a hive with mated queen
introducing a virgin in a queenless hive in a cage
introducing a mated queen in a queenless hive

It seems the responses are usually all over the place on this subject, so what works for you. Also I have head tips like dabbing the virgin queen in honey before walking her in.

[Oldbeavo]

The only time we introduced virgins into a new nuc, just made, was when a lot of cells hatched in the carry nuc.We just dropped them in, give the nuc a shake of icing sugar and hoped, we had about 50% success.
When we add a caged mated queen we just bump the old queen add the new queen in the cage with a candy plug, icing sugar everyone so when the mess is cleaned up there is a new queen smell, very successful.
When you add a queen to a hive with queen cells there are two things that happen, both they accept the queen, but one they tear down the cells and the other they don't, they let them hatch and then may supersede the introduced queen. Genetics lost.
Which will occur is a raffle that the bees control.
We would always knock off queen cells as they are the genetics of the queen we don't want.

[Acebird]

My question is it supercedure or swarm prep?  If it is supercedure I would let it happen.  Then if you wanted to change the genetics bump her off and then add a new queen.

[Fishing-Nut]

I should have added that 2 of these queen cells are capped, this was a mated queen that was released into the hive and she is doing fine after 3 days so far. Still capped queen cells in the hive though

[Nock]

So what would be best option?  Cut out the capped QCs and use somewhere else?  Or let those capped ones emerge and let the Queens work it out?  If they haven?t killed the released Queen would that mean they have accepted her? 

[TheHoneyPump]

So what would be best option?  Cut out the capped QCs and use somewhere else?  Or let those capped ones emerge and let the Queens work it out?  If they haven?t killed the released Queen would that mean they have accepted her?

If the queen is laying she MAY be fine.  Destroy queen cells.  Check again every 5 to 7 days and destroy any and all queen cells. She is deemed accepted when no more cells are being drawn.  In difficult intros, it may take up to 3 weeks for the bees to stop drawing cells, if they havent killed her by then.  After 3 weeks, if they are still drawing cells then the beekeeper must realize that they do not like her and never will.  She has to be deemed defective at that point.  Pull her out and put somewhere else or simply kill her.  Give the hive a new queen or let them raise their own.

[TheHoneyPump]

I rarely deal with a virgin queen introduction. Help me out here. I just introduced a virgin queen to a swarm with stumpy cells. I did not take the cells out it was raining at the time so I just walked her in. Will the virgin not kill the other queen cells? Do I need to go in an tear the cells down?

Can someone list some dos and dont's:
introducing a virgin to a queenless hive
introducting a virgin to a queenless hive with cells
introducing a virgin in a hive with mated queen
introducing a virgin in a queenless hive in a cage
introducing a mated queen in a queenless hive

It seems the responses are usually all over the place on this subject, so what works for you. Also I have head tips like dabbing the virgin queen in honey before walking her in.

There certainly are other methods. Some quicker, some longer.  Some consistently successful, some not so much.  Pick what you think will work for you. Below are imho to you scenarios for best chances of success.

Treat virgin queen introduction the same as a mated queen introduction.  The difference is that once the candy is set; the VQ you are going to leave alone for at least 2 weeks, whereas the mated queen you are going to check on her every 5 days.


introducing a virgin to a queenless hive
- VQueen 3 days in cage, corked.  4th day destroy queen cells. Check bees aggression towards the cage. Decide to extend intro a day or not.  If looks good, remove the cage cork and put a single mini marshmallow or candy.  Not alot of candy, set a short fuse..  Do not go back for 2 weeks.  Longer if the weather is poor for flying.

introducing a virgin to a queenless hive with cells
- destroy cells. 
- VQueen 3 days in cage, corked.  4th day destroy queen cells. Decide to extend intro a day or not.  If looks good, remove the cage cork and put a single mini marshmallow or candy.  Not alot of candy, set a short fuse..  Do not go back for 2 weeks.  Longer if the weather is poor for flying.

introducing a virgin in a hive with mated queen
- don't do this. 
- kill old queen first or move her to a nuc as backup contingency
- no need to wait after the kill for introducing the caged virgin.  can be put in immediately
- VQueen 3 days in cage, corked.  4th day destroy queen cells. Decide to extend intro a day or not.  If looks good, remove the cage cork and put a single mini marshmallow or candy.  Not alot of candy, set a short fuse..  Do not go back for 2 weeks.  Longer if the weather is poor for flying.

introducing a virgin in a queenless hive in a cage
 - see above

introducing a mated queen in a queenless hive
 - see above HOWEVER......
 - do not wait 2 weeks.  You must check thoroughly every 5 days for queen cells and destroy them, every 5 days, until she is stable.  This may take 3 weeks.

***** Virgin queens are subject to all the hazards and trials that go with the mating flights process.  The introduction to the hive may be 100% successful but the queen then be lost or fail on her mating flights.  Bee cautious to not be quick to attribute lost or missing or failing virgins to the introduction method.  She faces many odds against her soon as she leaves the entrance for here flights.   Mating success varies by many factors.  Can be anywhere form 0% to 80%.  We say virgin introductions are 50% successful.  That is based on how many end up as mated laying queens.  They can all be 100% successful at being introduced and accepted by the colony.  But then fail in the mating period.  The %age is determined much more by her mating period, and little by the introduction method.  Assuming you introduce using a sound method in the first place.  It is really important to clearly understand this when talking about success rates of VQ vs MQ.

Hope that helps!

[Fishing-Nut]

If anyone is interested this queen I introduced is doing fine. She started laying  and the bees tore the queen cells down before I could even get to them. Even the ones that were capped already. 

[Seeb]

great news! We always want to hear how it's going, it helps us learn