>Anyway I removed the cork from the candy end, poked a nail through the candy
>and put the queens with bees in the hives.  A week later I opened them up
>and both queens were still in the cages, and the candy was untouched.
>
>Does the candy trick work?  I ask this because last year I placed a new
>hive on a friends yard with a new queen and a home-made package.  I was
>unable to get back there for 3 1/2 weeks.  The poor queen was still in the
>cage!  The candy was untouched then as well, and all attendants in the cage
>were dead.
 
Mike, it sounds like you are enjoying your bees in spite of all of these
challenges.  The candy trick does work.  It works better if the attendents
are removed first.  It works better if there is no other queen in the colony
and no queen cells either.  I suggest that if the queen has not yet been
released then either:
        1.  There is a queen somewhere in the colony.
        2.  There are queen cells somewhere in the colony.
        3.  The candy is too hard for the bees to remove.
 
Sometime you can set the queen cage on the to bars are watch the reaction of
the bees to this new queen.  If they are particularly aggressive then it is
likely they feel no need for a new queen.  If, however, they start feeding
her you could likely release her immediately.
 
I have had better luck introducing queens to colonies with no eggs or yound
larvae than to colonies with these.
 
Good luck.
Eric Abell
Gibbons, Alberta Canada
(403) 998 3143
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