Hi Scott !

you asked ...
>        Does weather adversly affect queen acceptance?  I just got 5 new
>queens for my splits and to requeen a hive, and the weather is supposed to
>turn rainy and cold.  2 splits have been queenless 4 days.  Problem is,
>doesnt look like the weather will improve much between now and Tuesday.
>What to do?
>Thanks,

It's an old problem !  Brother Adam had submitted his conclusions about 50
years ago.  They are *quite up-to-date* !  Read them !

Brother Adam (1951) The Introduction of Queens. Bee World, 32(1) 49-52, (2)
57-62. On http://fundp.ac.be/~jvandyck/homage/artcl/FAintroBW51en.html you
can read this English abstract by P.S. Milne of an original (big) article
"Das Zusetzen von Königinnen" published in German in the Schweiz.
Bienenztg. 73 (1950) pp 267-273, 314-316
http://fundp.ac.be/~jvandyck/homage/artcl/FAintroSBZ50de.html. And in
French ... Et en francais dans la Belgique Apicole
http://fundp.ac.be/~jvandyck/homage/artcl/FAintroBA52fr.html

About your limited problem of cold weather ... seems important to put the
queen cage really "in" the cluster to avoid her abandonment.  Some sugar
patty (500 g) on the top of the frames could help the situation.

Hoping this helps !

Beely
Jean-Marie Van Dyck



Owner of the list "Abeilles" on bees in French.
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You can also see the multilingual homage page to Brother Adam on the URL
http://fundp.ac.be/~jvandyck/homage.html