Hello Scott and All,

Scott wrote:
  My question though would
> be why they would be more likely to accept Russian Queens in the fall?

Fall has always  been a oppertunity to requeen as long as a fall flow is
going on in my opinion. Russian queen breeders have always got to have a
ready answer  when asked by beekeepers not wanting to spend the time  to get
a difficult  queen introduced.  Below is what the Russian queen breeders
*should* say (in my opinion).

Introducing a queen directly into a strong hive is not for the novice.
Introducing a queen with slightly different pheromones also complicates the
issue.

The feat is accomplished by spending the  amount of time needed.  Aaron did
not have a problem with his introductions. Many  introduction instructions
say make a nail hole and place between the cage between the top bars. Maybe
ok in spring  in a nuc but will not work with 50-60,000 bees in fall.  She
could be out in less than eight hours.

A couple better options for Russian queens:

Introduce the Russian queen into a nuc with nurse bees and then requeen the
strong hive with the nuc.

Hand release the Russian queen into the hive after  3-5 days in the
queenless hive.  Keep checking till the workers are  not wanting to ball the
queen on the cage. release the queen onto the frame. If the bees try to ball
the queen. Catch her  and put her back in the cage. Try again in another
day.
Once released and left alone by the bees. Do not disturb for a week.

Beekeeping is not as simple as many would have you believe. By now we all
know that Russian queens are hard to introduce and the bees will supercede a
Russian queen at any time. Simply spend the extra time and effort.

Back to pondering  why SMR queens have spotty brood patterns.

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison

Ps.
 for new beekeepers:
To learn to correctly pick up a queen you need to practice with drones. On a
day when the bees are in a good mood. Remove your gloves.  Practice the
picking up of drones by the wings. Drones do not sting  but will buzz loudly
which makes them harder to handle than a queen which helps in training.
When ready to pick up the queen feel confident  she  WILL NOT sting you.
Queens have stung beekeepers but the instance is so rare not really worth
talking about. Most queens will curl and hold still while transported if
held correctly. Damage to queens   is rare.
I would  bet 50% of hobby beekeepers have never picked up a queen.