Quoting olopmac <olopmac@...>:

> OK, I need advice...
>
> I was just told that the queens I ordered months ago are ready to
> ship. Thing is, I've lost some hives since then. I'm going to have
> two extra queens when all is said and done. Is there a way to keep
> them alive for a few weeks, until I can provide hives for them?

Your queens will survive simply by placing them in a colony so the bees
can feed
them but not get at them. If the cage has candy then you must block this off
with tap or something so as she and her attendants eat it out they are still
confined to the cage. JZBZ are an example of this type of cage.

Best though to get them on comb as quickly as possible. If you have the
bees you
can create small nucs to accommodate them. With two extra queen you can
make two
4 frame nuc for them. Take one or two frames of bee and brood from the active
hives you have for each nuc. give them a frame of honey. This will lower the
population of your main hives so you will get a better acceptance and get the
girls making more brood for you. Make sure you have enough bees to look after
the brood you put in. Leave most of the brood in the main hives.

If you have to do this in one yard screen the nuc so your bees don't go
back to
the hive you took them from. After 3 day you can let them go they will
have for
the most part forgotten the old location. As these will be small they
will need
watching. you may need to Boost them from the larger colonies as they expand.

Select a frame of capped brood, Shake the bees back into the hive and add them
to the smaller nucs. Replace with comb. This process will not set back
the main
hive much but will allow the smaller one to expand rapidly. Make sure you have
enough bees though in the nuc to keep the brood alive. As they are capped they
will just need to be kept warm. You may need to add bees if they are shy.

If you are not moving bee the shaking process makes sure you don't
transfer the
queen and keeps the bees in the main hive so not to weaken it. If you are
moving bees with the frame. Find the queen before you transfer bees and brood.
Spray the bees with a mist of light sugar water. This removes the smell of the
bee you are transferring and taking their means of smelling away. By the time
they lick of the spray they will have gotten to know each other and the smell
of the new queen will be transfered to them.

If you do this you will not loose any egg time waiting for equipment. Only a
small number of bees will be required to keep the queen alive. The more bees
you can spare the faster she will be able to lay. Saving you time in getting
your losses back on line.

Shanta McBain
Bee breeder
http://beemaster.ca
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