Lesson 46: Introducing a New Queen

Getting the bees to accept her: candy cages, push-in cages, nucs and queen cells

Workers don't automatically accept a strange queen. If she's simply dropped in, they may kill her. Every introduction method works the same way: it gives the colony time to get used to the new queen's scent while she's protected, then lets her out once they've accepted her.

Before any introduction

• The colony must be queenless (lesson 45).
• Remove any queen cells and queen cups the colony has built.
• No laying workers (lesson 44).
• Young bees accept queens more readily than old ones, and small colonies accept queens more readily than large ones.
• Keep the new queen alive while she waits: cool (not cold), shaded, a tiny drop of water on the cage screen once or twice a day, and never wet.

Method 1: The candy cage (most common)

Most queens come in a small cage with a plug of candy at one end, the same kind used in packages (lesson 26).

1. Remove the cork from the candy end only. (If there's a cork on the other end, leave it.)
2. Wedge the cage between two frames in the middle of the brood nest, screen facing the bees, candy end reachable. Make sure it can't fall.
3. Close the hive and wait. The workers eat through the candy and release her in a day or two, by which time they're used to her.
4. Check after 2 to 3 days. Look at how the bees treat the cage:
5. Accepted: bees walk calmly over the cage, some feeding her through the screen. If she's still inside, you can let her out.
6. Rejected: bees cluster tightly on the cage, biting and gripping the wires with their mandibles, and you can't easily brush them off. Don't release her. Put the cage back and check again in a day or so. Persistent rejection often means another queen is loose in the colony, or a queen cell was missed.
7. About a week after her release, look for eggs.

Method 2: The push-in cage (safest)

A push-in cage is a small box of wire mesh, about 3 × 5 inches or larger, that you press into the comb over the queen. She can walk on a patch of comb, eat, and even start laying while protected. Laying queens give off stronger, more attractive pheromones, so acceptance is more likely. It's the method many use for valuable queens, and for difficult colonies (including laying-worker colonies; lesson 44).

1. Choose a frame with a patch of emerging brood (capped brood about to hatch) plus a few cells of honey or nectar. The emerging young bees will tend her.
2. Shake the bees off that spot.
3. Put the queen on the comb and press the cage firmly into the comb around her, with no gaps at the edges. Push-in cages work best on plastic foundation, where bees can't tunnel in from the other side.
4. Check in 3 to 5 days that the bees haven't chewed under the cage. If they have, move it.
5. Release her once she's laying in the cage and the bees are not biting the cage.

Method 3: Introduce her in a nuc

Queens are accepted more easily into small colonies. Introduce the new queen into a small nuc made of young bees and emerging brood. Once she's accepted and laying, combine the nuc with the big colony (made queenless a day or two before), using newspaper (lesson 47).

Method 4: A queen cell

Queenless colonies accept ripe queen cells very well. Gently press the thick base of a capped queen cell into the face of a dark comb in the middle of the brood nest, letting the cell hang down. Handle queen cells very gently, without bending or bumping them, and keep them warm in transport. The queen emerges, mates and starts laying, which takes a couple of weeks or more (lesson 13).

Virgin queens

Virgin (unmated) queens are harder to introduce. They're less attractive to the bees, and they run around and are hard to catch. After introduction she still has to mate, so expect a break of about two weeks in brood rearing, and if she hasn't mated within about two weeks of emerging, she may be too old to mate properly.

Why queens get rejected

• Another queen (or a virgin) is in the colony.
• Queen cells were missed.
• Laying workers.
• The colony was opened and disturbed too often during introduction.
• The cage or candy was blocked, or she was released too soon.

What to remember

• Introductions give the colony time to accept the queen's scent while she's protected.
• Remove queen cells, check for laying workers; young bees and small colonies accept queens best.
• Candy cage: check in 2–3 days. Calm bees walking on it = accepted; bees biting and gripping = rejected, don't release.
• Push-in cage: over emerging brood and a little honey; release once she's laying and the bees aren't biting.
• Look for eggs about a week after release.

Quick check

1. How can you tell if bees are accepting a caged queen?
2. Why are push-in cages more likely to succeed?
3. The bees keep rejecting every queen you introduce. What might be wrong?

Adapted from: UGA Bee Program, Getting Started: Honey Bee Management and Installing Packaged Bees; Purdue Extension, Advanced Beekeeping (4-H-1059-W), "Requeening Methods"; Penn State Extension, Honey Bee Insemination: Installing a Queen Using a Push-in Cage and Laying Queen Introduction (updated 2025); NC State Extension, How to Install a Package of Honey Bees (rev. 2024).

Photo: see lesson 43.

Adapted from university Extension sources. Experienced Georgia beekeepers are reviewing these lessons. See something that doesn't match your experience? Tell us.