Buying 3 new queens, what do I do with the old queens

[Lburou]

At least you have plenty of advice to choose from Jen. 

One other option you have is to requeen, then let the hives make increase and grow.  When your hives are growing, then you can take a few frames of brood and start those small Nucs Apis recommended.  Starting a Nuc by taking brood from hives headed by your new queens will likely produce less swarmy bees.  Just another option to consider.

Keeping those swarmy genes in your family is sowing the seeds of failure. Those swarmy queens will make good stock for your alcohol jar to use for swarm lures.  JMO 

My view is that it is a good thing to eliminate mean and swarmy bees from the gene pool.

[Jen]

Thanks Lburou! That's the purpose of this thread. These wanderlust bees are running me ragged ~


Lburou ""Those swarmy queens will make good stock for your alcohol jar to use for swarm lures.  JMO""

By the way, how does this work? Would a dead queen in a jar of alcohol make the queen smell like alcohol?

[Lburou]

The alcohol evaporates, leaving the faint echo of the queen's pheromones.  There are many opinions about which alcohol you should use, but, since I have rubbing alcohol I use that.  A dose of that potion in the swarm lure, coupled with 5 or 6 drops of lemongrass oil and a brood comb (treated with BT az.) will be all you can do to draw a swarm to that special sized box. 

 

[apisbees]

Been absent for a few days. So much to catch up on. her bees have been producing brood since January so I think she should have lots of bees and brood to split between the 3 queens. and save the 2 or 3 swarmy queens on 1 frame of brood and let them slowly build up and then as Lburou suggested install a frame of brood from one of the bought queens so the will draw out a replacement queens. Use the cell break down method.

[Jen]

Scrambled eggs in my head!

Wait a minute Apis! Remember that my parent hive swarmed 5 times (two of the swarms few out and flew back in). And, my swarm hive just swarmed. I don't have that many bees in my three hives now. And I don't have hardly any brood because all the virgin queens have been flying away, or dying, or fighting, or are not laying right yet.

What I have right now is:

 My parent hive 2 deeps, the top deep is pretty active, the other on less than half active with 6 frames of nothing, nada, zilch.

 I have the first swarm hive, which seems on the outside to be very busy.

 And now I have a third hive from the swarm 3 days ago. That hive was started with All Brand New wood/wired wax frames. There is nothing in there but about 2 lbs of very quiet bees.

I have Nothing to split with. Throwing up my arms 

[pistolpete]

Queens seem special and precious to most of us, but they are just one part of a working hive.  I'd say do the hard thing and pinch them.   You would not want to keep a dog that bites people (even if biting is a natural part of the dog's behaviour).   It is a joy to work with bees with good genetics, all you seem to have lately is stress.   

[Jen]

Hi Pete- yes it's been quite an adventure around here. I'm not opposed to pinching these old queens but hubby wants to give it a go and take the swarmy queens down to his dad's house, half an hour from our house. They would be planted in alpine territory. And we agreed that if they swarm themselves to death, then at least they did it the Frank Sinatra way.

All will depend on if we have enough hive reserves to make up a nuc or two.

[apisbees]

Yes Jen I forgot that you were having them pull comb. so first swarmed queen was a little slower at laying.