Mated queen: 

Only needed if you plan to carry out a split, are replacing an old or aggressive queen, or have proven your colony is queenless using a test frame containing eggs and young larvae. Please confirm next availability before taking action by Emailing: shop@sheffieldbeekeeperts.org.uk

If carrying out a split we recommend adding the mated queen between 2 and 24h after making up the new colony.

If you are requeening a colony, we recommend that you take out a queenless nuc [located at a different location in the same apiary] and add your caged queen to this. Meanwhile, catch your old queen and keep her hanging in a cage in the original colony. After 5-7 days remove the original queen and newspaper combine  the nuc with the original colony. 

If you think your colony might be queenless because they recently swarmed or you carried out a split, remember it can take up to 5 or 6 weeks for the colony to raise a new queen themselves and you see eggs. We recommend that you add a test frame containing eggs and young larvae 3 weeks after removing the queen and only consider buying a mated queen if this produces ‘emergency’ queen cells 3-4 days later. This proves the colony is queenless.

Virgin queen [less than 24 hours after emerging]: 

Must be immediately run straight into a mating nuc or added immediately to an existing colony. This is often a last resort to potentially resolve issues such as aggressive colonies, drone laying colonies or boxes where you are unable to establish if they are queenright. The virgin queen will normally kill and replace any existing queen and has a good chance of mating successfully. Always confirm next availability before taking action and be ready to collect at short notice. 

Mature queen cell [within 2-3d of emerging]:

Can be added to a mating nuc or wrapped in foil, leaving just the tip exposed and added immediately to an existing colony. This is often a last resort to potentially resolve issues such as aggressive colonies, drone laying colonies or boxes where you are unable to establish if they are queenright. The emerging virgin queen will normally kill and replace any existing queen and has a good chance of mating successfullly. Always confirm next availability before taking action