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Date: | Fri, 23 Apr 1993 09:55:00 GMT |
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Yes.. as was mentioned before, the bees will follow the queen, she needs to
be inside the hive you are going to install the package in. I would suggest
hanging the queen cage between two frames or placeing the cage on the upper
part of a comb, add a handfull of bees, close up the box then just dump
the rest of the bees at the hive enterance. A day or two later release
queen but and this is very important, make sure that the bees are not
being aggressive towards the Q in the cage as indicated by the bees
biting the wire or bees clustering tightly on the cage. When the Q is
released, watch the bees reaction towards her, they should form a court
around her but if they form a tight ball (golf ball size) or pull and
bite at her then put her back into the cage for longer. If the bees
to form a tight ball around the Q (known as balling) the simplest
way to separate them is to lift the ball and dump it into some
luke warm water - the bees will imediatly release the Q, if you try to
pull balling bees from the Q sometimes they will sting her.
It would be a good idea to feed your bees as they are more likely
to accept a Q when they think that there is a honey flow on!
Good Luck
Philip Earle
Queen's University,
Northern Ireland.
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