I am considering dequeening a strong hive in order for it to build queen cells.  I'll then place wire mesh cages over the sealed queen cells and possibly bank the emerged virgins in the same hive to select the largest ones for mating nucs.  The banking would be for a few days - until all the queens emerge.

Is this advisable?

My concerns are:

1. Do the emerged virgins need to be transfered into queen installation cages (I have both wood and plastic types) or should they be kept in the same wire mesh cages where they emerged?

2. Will the bees feed all the banked virgins or will they select only some to care for?

3. Does a queenless mating nuc readily accept a virgin queen by the direct release method or does one need to install the virgin in a cage with fondant in the access hole?

Thank you.  Any advice or suggestions will be appreciated.

Waldemar
Long Island, NY

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