I have used queen cells to requeen hives for years.  I am a tad lazy and
find it the easiest way, and as good as any other.  It is my view that it is
very cost effective, and I expect the bees to keep me.  This is done when
convenient in late summer/autumn.  I attempt to do all hives yearly.  We
almost never have broodless hives so that there are too many that will fail
in the second year.  It is amazing how fast a hive will collapse headed by a
failing queen when it hits a honey flow.

I normally place the cell in the hive when I remove the queen.  Sometimes I
will delay for a couple of hours if that is convenient, but it mostly
isn't.

I use a cell protector made from a short piece of plastic tubing.

A mate in Victoria (Australia) just places the cell into the hive without
removing the old queen.  Not sure if he uses a cell protector, and appears
to be a successful beekeeper.   I have heard that some New Zealanders do the
same thing, and the claim was made to me that they had an eighty percent
success rate.  I am unclear as to whether this was a gut feeling or based on
some controlled experiment.  Is there a New Zealander in the house?

One of the attractions of using cells is that there is no need of mating
nucs., something else to have to prepare and maintain.  The brood is in my
opinion better used in the honey producing hive.  And now with the advent of
Small Hive Beetle, maintaining mating nucs has gone up an order of
magnitude.

Geoff Manning

Ps.  PeterD said,  (about ammonium nitrate) -I could end up laughing all the
way to the bank

In Oz you could also end up laughing all the way to the slammer.

GM

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