quote: I have had opinions given on both sides and I'm just wondering what causes such varied opinion. reply: What causes it is the *fact* that no two hives behave exactly alike any more than any two people behave exactly alike. What works in beekeeping is *what usually works* or *what works most of the time* or even *what may work, if you are lucky*. Anyone who tells you he or she has a sure-fire method is got a case of inflated self importance. Be ready to be fooled! The bees will switch the "rules" on you every time! Queen introduction is an art, not a science. Success depends on weather, strains of bees, methods. In the middle of a honey flow you might be able to drop a strange queen right into a hive with no harm. With a very valuable queen I always introduce her to very young or emerging bees that don't know any other queen. pb