The Royalty Has Arrived

[Jen]

My queens are here, I'm giddy and nervous ~ I decided to post this arrival for those who haven't seen how queens are shipped, or at least how mine were shipped

This is much like a pizza box with air holes cut into it


Benton queen cages are wooden and glued to the bottom of the box for stability


Giving them one drop of water onto the screen twice a day per instructions


You can see two of the queens with their blue markings

[G3farms]

Should be green, not blue??

[LazyBkpr]

depends on if the vendor follows the yearly queen colors..  I hate yellow, green, white isnt great.. blue would be OK, but I prefer bright red!!

   Good deal Jen!  Now cover them up and stop peeking, and dont do like blue and rap on the cages to get them to Buzz!!!   

[Jen]

Actually it's kind of a turquoise color, or aqua? snark

Scott! Stop taking all the fun out of it! I can peek at them two times tomorrow while giving them one drop of water, maybe even two.. 

[barry42001]

Have you rounded up the other queens yet.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

[Jen]

No, it's real cold and windy. Supposted to get to around 59 tomorrow but good rain all day.

[blueblood]

Now cover them up and stop peeking, and dont do like blue and rap on the cages to get them to Buzz!!!   

 

Thanks for the pics Jen! Let the fun begin...

[apisbees]

Looks good Jen they look as if they are freshly pulled and have not been held in the queen cages for long. On post 5 is that "good rain all day" in that you need the precipitation or is it suppose to be could rain all day so you might not be able to go thru the hives. They put a lot of candy in the cages, most I have gotten they fill a little less than the one hole in the 3 hole cages. And a lot more than compared to the amount of candy in the Jz-Bz plastic queen cages.

Are you planing to release the attendants or install them with attendants still with her? I always get rid of the attendants but I have no problem releasing and recapturing and re-caging the queen. Some beekeepers do some don't It is a personal preference of the beekeeper.

[Jen]

Hi Apis, it mean solid rain all day, and it's windy as well. I won't be able to go thru the hives.

""Are you planning to release the attendants or install them with attendants still with her? I always get rid of the attendants but I have no problem releasing and recapturing and re-caging the queen. Some beekeepers do some don't It is a personal preference of the beekeeper.""

I guess I was planning on just letting the attendance go into the hive with her. I'm not understanding what your question is? 

[apisbees]

30 years ago an old time beekeepers said to remove the workers from the cage so the bees in the hive are forced to feed the queen so she is not being fed by the bees in the cage that came with her. It spreads her pheromones throwout the hive with the bees that are feeding her. He claimed better acceptance. So i got use to doing it that way. But I know of lots that leave the attendants in and also have great success.

[LazyBkpr]

Interesting tidbit of information Apis, thank you!  I knew some removed the attendants, but I have never asked why.

[Jen]

Thanks for explaining that Apis. So that means the attendance will be pinched... hmmm, I'll have to ponder on it tomorrow.

I would think that the attendance would get lost in the suffle of the hive...

[riverbee]

i leave the attendants in, and have always had success.

[Jen]

Hi Riv- I'll be doing that as well 

[Perry]

I usually leave them in as well, but I was told that the colony usually bumps them off right away anyway.
The queens we are allowing in from California this year must have the attendants removed and destroyed before releasing the queens. (Protocol)

[Jen]

Perry - remind me again why that is? 

[pistolpete]

The theory is that destroying the attendants reduces the chances of disease and pest transmission.   It works in theory, but bee keepers are a frugal bunch and reluctant to waste even a single bee.

[Jen]

Oh! That's right! Thanks Pete