How to introduce queens

The introduction of queens always entails a significant risk for the introduced queen. Some publications report failure rates of up to 50 %. For successful acceptance, all conditions must be optimal. The highest success rates are achieved when a young colony with a young queen is combined with an older colony. In general, favourable conditions must be deliberately created in order for a colony to accept an introduced queen.

1. Conditions for Queen Acceptance

A queenless colony without open brood can successfully receive a new queen
Young bees accept the new queen more readily than older bees. If a queen is introduced into a colony that has been queenless for a long time and consists mainly of older bees, the utmost caution is required. If the bees have started laying drone eggs (= drone-laying colony), the colony must be destroyed, as it will no longer accept any queen (brush all bees of the drone-laying colony off all frames at a distance of 100 m from the apiary)
A colony without open brood is unable to initiate emergency queen rearing on its own. It will be more receptive to a new queen
Strong colonies are more difficult to requeen. The larger the colony, the more pheromones the queen must produce so that the bees do not feel queenless
Empty bee spaces and brood attract young bees. In order for the queen to be surrounded by young bees, the introduction cage should be suspended in an empty bee space between two brood frames
A calm and peaceful colony will accept a new queen more readily than an agitated and aggressive colony
A colony short of food stores will more frequently attack the introduced queen. In such cases, the hive should be fed before requeening.
A colony in the swarming impulse will be reluctant to accept a new queen
Introduce the queen without waiting additional days (even though a queen can be kept in her shipping cage with attendant bees for up to one week away from light). If the queen has not been laying for several days because she is confined in the cage, the intensity of her queen pheromones decreases
It is easier to introduce a queen outside the rearing season, i.e. in March, April, September, and October. In spring and autumn, pheromone production and colony strength are lower than in summer. The most favourable period varies depending on the introduction method chosen.
In good flying weather, the older bees are outside the hive, which simplifies requeening. Inserting the introduction cage late in the afternoon when the colony is calm, with release of the queen the following day when the older bees are outside, promotes acceptance
During the main flow, the older bees are occupied with foraging activity, which also favours a successful queen change
A robbing situation is unfavourable, as the bees are agitated

Errors to avoid:

Do not open the hive to check for the queen before one week, or preferably 10 days.
Do not introduce the queen together with her attendant bees in the introduction cage
The sugar in the candy plug must not be hard. The queen is released too late (reduction of pheromones if the queen has no opportunity to lay for several days)
Do not forget to remove the safety tab from the introduction cage

2. Introduction Methods

There are several methods for introducing queens. The method chosen depends on the conditions and practices.

2.1 Introduction into a Nucleus Colony

The safest approach is to introduce queens into nucleus colonies. This creates a situation resembling a cast swarm. Young queens can be introduced into both nucleus boxes and artificial swarms. The procedure is as follows:

Prepare an artificial swarm with approx. 1.8 kg of bees on foundation (cf. summer nucleus) or, five days before introducing the queen, create a nucleus with one food frame and two brood frames containing open and sealed brood, all covered with bees. Reinforce this nucleus by brushing bees from a brood frame. The older bees will return to the parent colony
Feed
On day 5, remove the queen cells
Insert the introduction cage without attendant bees between 2 brood frames and remove the safety tab (if concerned that the queen may fly off when the attendant bees are removed, the cage can be briefly dipped in a glass of water). Pierce the candy with a matchstick. The candy must not be too hard.
Feed
After one week, or preferably 10 days, check for egg laying
The aim is to have a nucleus on 6 frames by the end of August

2.2 Introduction into a Colony that has been Queenless for 7–9 Days

Render the colony queenless
Wait 7 to 9 days
Remove the queen cells (the same result can be achieved by confining the queen to be removed in a closed introduction cage between the brood frames. The presence of the old queen in the cage normally ensures that no emergency queen cells are built; the brood frames must nevertheless be inspected.)
Proceed according to points d to g of chapter 2.1 (do not open before 7 days!)

Tip: The queen can be changed directly after the formic acid treatment: render the colony queenless in the evening, start the treatment the following morning, and introduce the new queen at the end of the treatment (generally 7 to 9 days). Advantage: the brood break after treatment is avoided, as the new queen will start laying immediately.

2.3 Introduction with a Small Colony

The queen can also be introduced together with a small colony (small nucleus or spare colony). A small colony can be united directly with a strong queenless colony. However, the arrival of a new queen may cause agitation in the colony. It is therefore important to ensure adequate ventilation and water supply.

Uniting with a queen excluder

A queen excluder is placed between the nucleus and the queenless colony. Once the bees have consumed the candy blocking the openings, the scent of the two populations will merge. As a result, the queenless colony will generally accept the queen well after the excluder is removed.

Uniting with a newspaper sheet

The beekeeper places two sheets of damp newspaper between the two colonies to be united, into which several 2–3 cm slits have been made. As the bees work their way through the newspaper, the colonies merge.

2.4 Direct Requeening

This method is not reliable. It may work at the end of the season.

Render the colony queenless
Proceed according to points d to g of chapter 2.1 (do not open before 7 days!)

A more reliable method: use the mating hive (e.g. Apidea)

Render the colony queenless
Wait 2 hours
Place two sheets of newspaper on the queenless colony
Make small holes in the bottom board of the Apidea mating hive using a pen (alternative: cut a board to receive the mating hive)
Open the bottom and place the mating hive on this surface (see image below)
Add a super and close
Proceed according to points e to g of chapter 2.1 (do not open before 7 days!)

3. When Should the Queen be Replaced?

Two scenarios:

Old queen, queen of an aggressive colony, queen of a colony lacking vitality, queen of a colony with chalkbrood: Replace as soon as possible
New queen after swarming, young but hybrid queen (F3 to Fx):
Since winter losses are high, the ideal would be to carry out the replacement before the swarming impulse in spring for the colonies in question that have overwintered.
Two difficulties:

Finding queens at the start of the season! (very beginning of May)
A good honey harvest and a queen-of-the-year appear to be incompatible, as the young queen lays prolifically and much of the colony's attention is devoted to rearing the large brood at the expense of the harvest. The remedy lies in restricting such a colony to, for example, 8 frames.

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