have a question about pinching a queen and combining

[Yankee11]

I had to pinch a queen today.

How long should I wait to do a newspaper combine. 24hrs? or should I wait a week and tear down all the queen cells then combine?

[Finally Home]

Could you explain your situation and reason for pinching the queen to help those with less experience understand and learn? 

[Woody Roberts]

Thinking about doing the same thing today if it quits raining. My case is a little different. The bad queen is in a long Lang and was born during the rainy month we had. She's big, fat and purty but she don't lay eggs. I've given the hive brood/ eggs but they seem to think they have a queen. I have a nuc that will have to go in a full size box in the next week or so. Thinking about killing the queen this morn and add the nuc this afternoon. No newspaper.

Another option I have. I have some queen cells I could harvest on Wednesday. This hive is already low on bees though.

[blueblood]

Hmm, well they will realize they are without queen after 24 hours and they will indeed commence in the direction of amending the problem if they have eggs to work with.  Is this a small colony that you wish to combine?  I think I know where you are going with this.  You will be newspaper combining with a queen right hives correct?  I wouldn't think the 24 to 72 hours it will take for the bees to chew through the paper will allow much trouble with queen cells forming. 

In the middle of the day when foraging is at its peak, I have taken frames of nurse bees and straight up transferred them to the hives I wanted to combine them with having no problems.  The foraging bees, which are in the last couple weeks of life, will return and may or may not find a hive to unload their goods.

[brooksbeefarm]

I usually pinch the bad queen and newspaper combine at the same time, never had a problem. I think they know quicker than we think they are queenless. I have also done the combine like Woody (no newspaper) and got away with it (had know newspaper at the time ) but i think the newspaper combine helps to reduce fighting. When i do combine without newspaper, i spray inside both hives with a lemongrass oil and sugar water mix to confuse the two pheromones. Jack

[Woody Roberts]

Well, I just got back. Went in and found the queen. She is no longer with us. I went thru every frame very carefully looking for eggs but to no avail. I did have several wax moth larva I dug out. This hive has gotten really weak.

Since I do everything on a whim I got the nuc and found a frame with lots of brood and bees and set it in the hive. Watched a few minutes. The bees acted like they were cousins. Well actually they are. No fuss, no fighting so I just put the rest of them in.

I kept the nuc frames all together of course. It's possible they'll kill her but highly unlikely.

[Garden Hive]

Same here with a combine, do it at the same time.
As I observe many times if I take an extend amount of time in a hive, the bees will tell you that they are already away of a separation in certain boxes set apart from the stack. They change their tone and mannerism quickly.
I (think) oh oh, dangerous  , Iddee posted a time back that studies show that the entire hive is aware within hrs and begin corrective action.

[riverbee]

what jack said, and the bees know they are queenless within hours.

"I usually pinch the bad queen and newspaper combine at the same time, never had a problem. I think they know quicker than we think they are queenless. I have also done the combine like Woody (no newspaper) and got away with it (had know newspaper at the time ) but i think the newspaper combine helps to reduce fighting. When i do combine without newspaper, i spray inside both hives with a lemongrass oil and sugar water mix to confuse the two pheromones. Jack"

i use newspaper to reduce fighting and i don't like to risk losing my queen in the original hive. been there, done that a time or two without the newspaper. never again, i use the newspaper method.

[apisbees]

As others have said the news paper is the slow release introduction of the 2 colonies.