>What's a better way to find and catch the queen (unmarked) in a normal
>colony (i.e., two deeps full of bees and brood)?  My straightforward
>approach of pulling frames and looking them over, one by one, doesn't
>work very well for me.  My eyeglasses get covered with sweat so I can't
>see, and I get covered with mad bees stinging through my bee-suit, before
>I find the old lady.
 
A number of suggestions have been made all of which have merit and obviously
fit the working pattern of the beekeepers who have adopted them.
 
I especially agree that it is unnecessary to locate the queen unless you
specifically need to.  Recently laid eggs, well laid brood pattern,number of
laid brood frames - all these are better indicators to queen health than
glimpsing Herself.
 
When we do need to locate a queen (for breeding daughter queens) we follow
this method:
 
Ensure queen is in lower brood box (we use a permanent queen excluder).
 
1.  Smoke hive at front entrance.
 
2.  Leave 2 minutes
 
3.  Remove any top boxes and place to one side, covered.
 
4.  Remove the outside frames of the brood box alternately, giving each an
inspection for the queen (it is unlikely she will be there) and leaning on
the outside so that bees can re-enter.  Leave this space so that the frames
are not next to the side of the box.
 
5.  Remove each frame alternately from the outside, examining for queen ONLY.
Do not get distracted by eggs, brood, honey.  The queen will normally leap
to your attention if you are focusing only on bees.  30 seconds a frame is
normally sufficient examination.  Use minimum smoke (only when the bees
start to rise) and only across the top of the frames, never down between them.
Replace each frame as you work, leaving a space between that frame and the
unexamined frames.
 
6.  Sometimes the queen will move away from you as you pick up each frame
but in this event she will finish in the centre of the box on the last frame
you pick up.
 
This method avoids the queen getting lost outside the box, getting amongst
the midst of bees on the side of the box or down into the bees at the entrance.
 
It can be fun to practise finding the queen by taking a look at the brood
box when it is first uncovered.  There will be a concentration of bees. Pull
out the middle frame where bees are most crowded and take a quick look for
the queen, followed by the frames on either side.
 
Betty McAdam
HOG BAY APIARY
Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island
j.h. & e. mcadam<[log in to unmask]
http://kigateway.eastend.com.au/hogbay/hogbay1.htm