Re: Attendants

The bees in the cage with the queen are usually just plucked off the frame she was on. They aren't any particular "caste" or whatever. Some breeders add attendants to the cages later, using entirely unrelated bees. And some don't put attendants in the little cages at all, preferring to dump a few handfuls of bees in the shipping box. Point is, they may or may not be related to the queen at all, but it doesn't matter. Removing them might be a good idea, if you have time. Most beekeepers don't do it. Whether a new queen is accepted mostly depends on the conditions in the hive.

Peter
Ithaca NY
USA