What to do with sudden virgin queens in my pocket

[TwoHoneys]

Yesterday I cut three queen cells from a terrific hive I had divided a couple of weeks ago. I put the queen cells in my shirt pocket until I could work up a nuc in which to place them.

Next thing I know, I've got a queen walking around in my pocket! And then two queens!!

I put each of the queens in her own queen cage. However, the queens were all alone in their cages...no attendants...because by this time I was nowhere near the hive from which they came, and I didn't want the attendants from another hive to kill the virgin queens.

Soon, though, as I was preparing their nucs, the queens sort of sloooowed their movements. I wondered if they were dying. I installed them in their nucs as quickly as I could, but I wonder if they'll die in their cages before the bees release them.

Please tell me how you would have handled this event in order to capitalize on some sudden, wonderful, virgin queens.

-Liz

[deknow]

Unless the cages are up against open brood in is by no means assured that they will be fed.  Get them out of the cages...they are not mated and should not be harassed by the workers.

[TwoHoneys]

I'll be darned. I didn't know that deknow. I'll release them immediately. THANK YOU!

[bud1]

they have to eat immediately  dab o nectar or honey or they fade fast, next time just drop them in

[RHBee]

TH, let us know how this turns out. I've never heard of this happening before. Had to be cool to have them hatch out like that.

[johng]

virgins that fresh can be immediately introduced into a new nuc without any problems. Smoke the nuc and run in the virgin. I have done it several times without any problems.

[TwoHoneys]

UPDATE:

I left one virgin queen in her cage (without any attendants), and when I checked the hive yesterday, she'd been released.

I had also placed an unopened queen cell in the same hive. It had hatched (or had been opened).

Then I spotted a queen. I have no idea which queen won out, but it was sweet to see her.

Thanks so much for helping me think this through. Next time, I'm gonna simply let the virgin walk into her new hive.

-Liz

[10framer]

i had a similar experience last week.  i waited a day too long to remove queen cells and had one hatch in while i was trying to find the queen in a hive that was hotter than i like a couple of weeks before.  i didn't find her or any eggs so i just let the virgin crawl down between two frames and shut it back up.  saturday the activity at the entrance looked like she may have been coming back from a mating flight so i think it worked.

[Parksguyy]

Cdn Beek here, I had a similar situation last year ... opened up a hive and found some queen cells and right before my eyes the cap flips open and out walks a new queen.  While I'm trying to get the hair clip out of my pocket another one does the same thing but managed to run into the hive.  I did catch the first one and simply dropped her into another hive I had suspected swarmed on me.  It must of worked becaused both hives eventually rebounded back.