Hello Bud and everyone,

I have checked for the original source for the reference to the 30%
acceptance noted by the researchers. I clipped an article over a decade
ago and could not locate it. However, I did find another reference in the
ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture on page 421 citing a Canadian study by T.
Szabo. In that study about 77% of the colonies remained queen right. Of
these, about 13% were successful with the introduced cell, 53% retained
their own queen and 24% raised a new queen. I am not familiar with the
details of this study.

My own experience indicates that about 85% of the colonies will initially
accept the cell and rear the virgin queen. About 65% of the hives will
get a virgin successfully mated. Our yards are large and setup for easy
access. Like you, I think much of this additional loss is due to drifting
and could be reduced. But with the heat of summer, the bee suit and at
times it seems a zillion hives to work fast, easy hive access outweighs
the drifting loss. About 10% will raise a new queen. So about 75% of the
hives will get a new queen one way or the other, 15% will retain the old
queen and 10% will need additional work.

I hope this helps clarify my original post.

Best Wishes
D. Murrell