What have you done today bee-related?

[JoJo36]

Thanks Adam & Ericm,
Just checked again and my useless queen has decided to lay a few eggs!!! I'm thinking maybe taking her out and keeping her in a queen clip, squirting a load of air freshener and putting newbie in??!!
As for the other two, one queen is three years old and I've become a bit attached to her so thought maybe make a nuc box, placing her in and maybe trying the air freshener trick?! I've used it for joining two hives so maybe it would work!
My new queens don't arrive for around 11 days so still have time to mull over!
My snelgrove has given me the opportunity to place a new queen in the brood box above but whether they will accept her is another matter??!! Nothing in beekeeping works for everyone I guess and I'm learning still from trial and mostly error!!!

[NigelP]

New queens cost money. Adding to top box should work, providing no queen present and current flyers redirected into bottom box, but you will get the bees drawing new queen cells up there. My go to method is always introduce queens into a nuc first. You can make nuc from bees in top box and from super frames four or five days before hand. Means any flyers will return home and you have time to remove all the queen cells they will have drawn before adding new queen in cage. I certainly wouldn't chance directly introducing her at this point. Leave in cage suspended for 2-3 days, remove cap on candy plug and let them release her from cage.
Generally if I want to keep the queen in the top box of a snelgrove I wait for at least 2 weeks, then simply put top box on top of bottom box, qx and supers on top. As she is surrounded by bees that accept her she tends to be well protected from any possible aggression.

[JoJo36]

Thanks Nigel!
Re "Adding to top box should work, providing no queen present and current flyers redirected into bottom box, but you will get the bees drawing new queen cells up there." Yes was thinking of taking out queen in top box the day before and the following day when they have pulled QC's , destroy them, squirt freshener or smoke like mad and hope she's accepted?!
I've only got one nuc box and don't really have much room left for more equipment!!
I'd ideally like 3 new laying queens, a spare yellow on retirement in my nuc box and give the other 2 away if anyone is needing a queen?!
Maybe for ease, I should snelgrove my other okay hive and they will both be without flyers and hopefully accepting of a new queen?! I've heard some people just take out old queen and place new one in after spraying with sugar water to sweeten up the colony??!!

[NigelP]

" Yes was thinking of taking out queen in top box the day before and the following day when they have pulled QC's , destroy them, squirt freshener or smoke like mad and hope she's accepted?!

I'd take old queen out about a week before your new queens arrive. They have an approx. 5 day window to draw new queen cells, eggs (3 days to emerge from laying) to 48 hour old larvae and if desperate even further than that. Do not directly introduce queen. My experience (or should that be previous inexperience) has shown that doing this often ends in disaster. You do not want to hope she is accepted, you want to know she has been accepted before release. It's easy. After 48/72 hours pick out cage with queen in, slide finger over attached bees if they dislodge easily she has been accepted, if the bees are clinging to cage and difficult to remove she hasn't.
I don't directly release as I've said before had too many queens fly off doing this. Let the bees release her by eating through candy plug. Side note.... worth checking she has been release 48 hours later by making just removing cage and make sure she still isn't in there. Occasionally the candy becomes so hard the bees can't remove it

[JoJo36]

Thanks Nigel!
Just didn't fancy having to keep going in box and destroying all the queen cells!!

[NigelP]

Remove queen about 1 week before new one arrives. Leave for 5-6 days then they will have drawn most of queen cells so technically you only need to go in once to destroy all the queen cells. But I would do a second check before releasing queen, I always seem to miss one or two.

[JoJo36]

I think I'll try 3 different ways!!
1, take out old queen and spray with sugar water, hoping they will love her!
2, take out old queen a couple of days before, destroy any QC's and gently introduce new queen to nurse bees!
3, take out old queen the week before, cage her and then swap after spraying with air freshener!

Mmmmm, I may just change again!!!

[JoJo36]

Had another idea!!
Maybe a couple of days before new queens arrive ( on my snelgrove hive), swap boxes back so the top box will only have young bees going to and fro where the bottom box will have e old queen with brood and eggs who they may not mind?!
Maybe snelgrove my other hive to do the same trick?! Once new queen settles and starts laying eggs, I could then join top and bottom box getting rid of old queens?!
I may be overthinking this!!!

[Ericm]

If you use air freshener then it doesn't take much. Just a quick squirt across the top. It really does work, you can combine two boxes of bees this way without all the fat of newspaper. You can add a frame or two of bees to another hive if required by the same method.
Best of luck which ever route you go down but make sure you let us know the outcome

[NigelP]

Yup air freshener is great for uniting bees. But never heard of it being used in queen introduction, not sure I'd chance it when the method that I use works 100% of the time (so far )