Queen acceptance: the essentials

Mated queen

Introducing a new queen into a hive is like a surgical “transplant”. If we regard the colony as a “superorganism”, the queen can be seen as an “organ” that may be rejected; she must be “compatible”, both in terms of the honey bee subspecies (Apis mellifera) and with the receiving superorganism as a whole.

Below are some precautions for introducing a new queen into a colony using the transport cage in which she arrived:

Introduction instructions:

• remove the lower tabs on the candy end;

• if the candy has hardened, place the cage upright for 10 minutes in a glass containing 10 mm of still water to soften it;

• place the cage between occupied combs, gently bringing the combs together;

Conditions for acceptance:

• the colony must have been queenless for at least 48 hours and no more than one week;

• remove all queen cells: even a single queen cell will prevent acceptance of the queen;

• do not introduce the cage into colonies with a virgin queen; the caged queen will not be accepted;

• colonies with laying workers should not be regarded as queenless for introduction purposes and will not accept the queen. In this case, break up the colony;

• colonies with a drone-laying queen will not accept the caged queen: the existing queen must therefore be killed. Again, wait 48 hours before introducing the queen in her cage;

• queen acceptance declines in colonies that have been queenless for more than a week. If no capped brood remains, add two combs of capped brood from another colony, wait 24 hours and place the cage between those two combs;

• do not introduce the cage into newly established nuclei made from a single colony;

• do not introduce the cage into colonies that have just been transported;

• if the colony is particularly aggressive, acceptance drops sharply. In this case, remove the tab on the candy end and cover the opening with adhesive tape, making a small hole with a toothpick to delay the queen’s release;

• do not position the cage outside the brood chamber. The bees may fail to keep it warm during cold periods;

• providing the colony with some candy or syrup increases the acceptance rate;

The above guidance is no substitute for sound beekeeping training. Many factors can affect acceptance. We cannot be held responsible for a queen’s failure to be accepted.