Hello All

Ernest Huber describes an interesting method for handling the re queening of
an aggressive colony in a location surrounded by neighbours.

He has effectively 'bled' off the aggressors and at the same time got them
to accept the new queen by placing the nucleus on the stand of the old hive.
This seems like an excellent idea.

If he now uses the Queen Isolator on the moved hive will not the queen be
trapped below the Isolator and be easily dispatched without having to be
found in the traditional way?. I suppose the question of brushing off or
shaking the bees in a suburban location may possibly cause alarm due to the
number of flying bees, but at least we are now dealing with the less
aggressive bees. I have recently begun using water instead of smoke to calm
the bees during manipulations, and the next time I use the Queen Isolator, I
am going to spray the bees slightly (rather like the procedure for getting
bees for an Apidea), before I brush them into the hive, as I believe that
this will significantly reduce the number of flying bees.

I will try Ernest's suggestion of using the nucleus, and I will post an
account of what happens.

Sincerely

Tom Barrett
49 South Park, Foxrock
Dublin 18
Ireland
Tel + 353 1 289 5269
Fax + 353 1 289 9940