I seem to recall reading that Brother Adam would just pull a queen out and
drop a new laying in.  He claimed as long as it was a laying queen and the
hive hadn't recognized it was queenless yet it was always accepted.  Not
sure if anyone has ever studied this.  Found a citation, not sure how
accurate it is, but I suppose there would be no interruption in queen
substance this way. Something to think about I guess.

<The system now adopted at Buckfast is to winter young queens in their
mating nuclei and to transfer them to honey producing colonies at the end
of March.   Queens not required then are left in reserve for colonies whose
queens are found to be below standard later in the season, any surplus
queens beyond these requirements being given to honey-producing colonies
early in October.   Colonies are requeened, therefore, mainly in the spring
or occasionally in the late autumn.   Nevertheless, queens can be replaced
at any time of the season, the essential point being that the process is
always one of immediate substitution -- the old queen being replaced by a
fully mature queen in laying condition -- rather than one of introduction,
the new queen proceeding with her activities regardless of her new
surroundings.   All queens are clipped.   The whole operation is reduced to
an absolute certainty and there are no losses.>
http://www.pedigreeapis.org/biblio/artcl/FAintroBW51en.html

Jeremy
West Michigan

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