At 11:45 AM 7/1/02 +0100, you wrote: >I requeened it and put in some frames of brood, but there is >no sign of new worker brood or eggs and I can't see the queen. They probably simply didn't except the queen. Queen introduction is simply less successful in large colonies, colonies with more older bees (which you probably have), etc. > My plan is to move the hive containing this swarm to the site of the old > hive, move >the old colony ½ mile away and shake off the bees so that they fly back to >the new hive, leaving the drone laying workers. Drone laying workers can fly. They even have been observed laying eggs between foraging runs. I've personally observed a laying working in a perfectly healthy new colony with a new queen, good brood pattern, etc. So my personal opinion, though many books say the opposite, is that shaking out all the workers is a big waste of time, and you will likely loose the young workers which make queen introduction easier and which will be vital in keeping the colony alive in several weeks time when all the older workers have died. I personally would try requeening again, adding some eggs and brood from the other colony, or simply combining the two. Which one would depend on availability of a queen, brood, strength of the hive (has it already dwindled too far) -Tim