Improved Queen-Rearing; or, How to Rear Large, Prolific, Long-Lived Queen Bees / The Result of Nearly Half a Century's Experience in Rearing Queen Bees, Giving the Practical, Every-day Work of the Queen-Rearing Apiary

by Henry Alley

HOW TO INTRODUCE VIRGIN QUEENS

My plan is to let colonies, whether full stocks or nucleus, remain queenless three days, or not far from 72 hours. Then just before dark the queens are given the bees by this process: I generally have from 25 to 50 virgin queens to introduce at one time. The cages are placed in a convenient box having a handle. Then as many plantain leaves as there are queens to introduce are pulled and put in the box ready for use. These leaves are for closing the entrance to each hive in which queens are to be placed. Armed with the pipe before mentioned, all is in readiness for introducing the queens. The feeder used at the top of the hive is removed, a good dose of smoke is blown in among the bees and combs. The feeder replaced until the stopper in the cage is removed, and then the queen by a quick motion is thrown out and into the feeder hole. Then the feeder is again quickly put in position, and no further attention is given the bees.

I have introduced successfully as many as fifty virgin queens in thirty minutes.

The art of introducing unfertile queens requires more experience to be successful than it does to introduce fertile queens. In fact, one must be very apt, possess a good deal of tact, and I can almost say, must be very scientific. However, most any bee-keeper can learn how to perform such work successfully. One may read how others do these things, but practical knowledge, in order to know all the little details of such intricate and delicate work as introducing queens can only be had by long practice and experience. Just how much tobacco smoke to give the bees when introducing a queen is a point that requires more or less practice and good judgment.

I never have been so unfortunate as to give bees too much smoke at such times. Am not certain that bees can be killed by tobacco smoke if they can get fresh air soon after smoking them. The effect of the smoke soon passes off and the bees resume a normal condition.

Bear in mind that unless the work of introducing queens by using tobacco is done very late in the day, or on some cool day when bees cannot fly very much, your apiary will be ruined, as robbing may be induced. Tobacco smoke puts the bees in such a condition they cannot defend their stores from robber bees, and once robbing is commenced among the small nuclei it is almost impossible to stop it. Should such a thing happen it would be necessary to remove the entire nuclei to a distant location.