>I read ( 2-3 years ago) in a  french publication (Abeille de France), an
>original  method to replace old keen and introduce a neuw one ( in cell by
>preference or virgin in a keen box?)  without  finding and  killing the old.
>
>The method:
>- introduce the new keen (cell)  in a back corner of the hive, or
>- let the virgin walk slowly in a corner of  the entrance...
>
>With this method, we are able to replace the old queen by natural selection.
>That is,  if the new  virgin keen are not considered better than the old,
>bees kill her.
>But if  the young keen is accepted, he kill the older.
 
Either of these methods may work but lack certainty.  The old queen may not
find a queen cell in a back corner of the hive and it may hatch as in normal
supersedure but if the cell is found and destroyed, this has been a waste of
valuable time.
 
The difficulty with releasing a virgin queen into the hive is that she may
be distinguishable as not being hatched in that hive.  A virgin queen will
normally hatch and parade the comb for several days during which time she
will attack any rivals.  Normally the younger queen will win.
 
A third method of requeening without locating the old queen is to use a
splitter board, which is a dividing screen between the old queen with the
original brood and an additional super with sufficient bees to raise a queen
and a separate entrance.  The splitter board has a centre hole of gauze so
that both lots of bees have a common hive odour.  When the virgin has flown
and mated and her egg output assessed as satisfactory, the splitter board is
removed and the two queens will come together.  Again, the younger queen
will normally triumph.  This is a variation of the Demaree method. I do not
have the original source material but will describe the method further if
anybody is interested.
 
The down-side of all three methods is that there is a risk of injury to the
new queen and considerable time may elapse before the outcome is known.
 
I hav heard of beekeepers faced with a vicious hive who place  queen cells
bred from a desirable strain in the hive each month forcing a succession of
supersedures until the temperament modifies.
 
Betty McAdam
HOG BAY APIARY
Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island
j.h. & e. mcadam<[log in to unmask]
http://kigateway.eastend.com.au/hogbay/hogbay1.htm