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How to Move a Queen Bee

Out of the 40,000 to 200,000 bees within a hive, there is only one fertile female bee, the queen bee. She has only one task within the hive: to lay eggs and bring about the next generation of bees. A queen bee starts out the same way any other bee does---as an egg. Workers then build a special cell for rearing their new queen. Sometimes though, it is necessary for a beekeeper to purchase a new queen and introduce her to an established hive.

Things You'll Need

New queen bee encased in a candy block
Bee smoker
Hive

Instructions

- 1
  Order a queen bee from a farm supply store or online company. You want to look for a queen that has natural resistance to the many forms of mites and pesticides in the world.
- 2
  Smoke the beehive that you plan to move your queen to. This calms the bees and prevents them from swarming. Open the hive and remove the center panel of cells. This is where you place your queen bee initially.
- 3
  Place your new queen, which came from the supplier encased in candy, inside the introductory hive. The candy cube consists mostly of corn syrup and sugar. The cube has a few air holes that also serve as starting points for the workers to release the queen. The worker bees chew slowly through the candy, gradually releasing the queen. This allows the bee colony to adjust to her pheromone scents and increases the chances of her being accepted as the queen. If the colony fails to accept her as its queen when you move her into the hive, it kills and eats her.
- 4
  Keep watch over your hive to make sure that it is accepting the queen. You can typically learn this by watching the actions of the queen. An accepted, healthy queen travels from cell to cell laying eggs. A colony would not allow this if it failed to accept her.

Insects & Science