Has anyone ever heard of or tried the method of allowing the queen to walk in the front entrance rather than released inside the hive?  The idea being that this is the way a normal new queen returns from her mating flight.
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Yes, I had a student in my nubee class who read about that method and wanting to be as close to natural as possible, he opened the queen cage for her to walk in.  He called me shortly after asking how he could get his bees out of the pine tree where the queen had flown to.  I recommend a slow release.  Whether it take 2 or 3 days (which is usual) or 4 or 5 days (with really hard candy), it is worth it.  The advantages to a quick release are small.  The possible consequences are significant.

The question of pouring the bees in or letting them exit the cage at their leisure is another point I deal with many times.  Isn't it kinder to the bees to let them choose when to join the queen, they ask?  Sometimes it works, but I have never had pouring the bees in fail.  Just this year, in the recent cold snap, one of my beginning beekeepers sent me a picture the cage with about half the bees clustered and cold (dead?) still inside the package.  Some had joined the queen.  Some had clustered to stay warm in the cage and not moved.  Bee brave, I tell them, pour them in.  The bees will appreciate it. (anthropomorphizing, I know)...

I expect there is a reason that a century (plus) of bee keepers have developed techniques they rely on and try to pass on to the new comers.  YouTube has never kept bees.

Larry Krengel

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