# You found a laying worker colony.



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

You found a laying worker colony, all is not lost.
Installing a queen into this type of colony usally only results in a dead expencive queen. Here are some steps I learned from an fellow who had kept bees for nearly 60 years on a commerical bases. You need more than one colony of bees to do this.

(1. Remove the hive from the stand place it well away from where it was.

(2. Move a strong colony in that spot. Remove five or six frames of eggs, brood and nurse bees from it.

(3. Remove frames from the laying worker hive, take them 30 to 50 yards away and brush off all the bees. Place that now clean frame in colony #2 you took the brood and nurse bees from.

(4. remove all remaining frames from the laying worker hive and brush all the bees off them and the hive body"s them selves. Place it where you took the strong colony from. Place the 5 or 6 frames of eggs, brood and nurse bees in it. the foragers from the strong colony will return as normal. Now you either place a new queen in there (recommended ) or a queen cell.

Every thing should be OK after that the laying worker will return to the spot her hive used to be and is now where the strong hive is. Normally they stop laying in a queen rite hive. You can in a week remove several more frames to balance out the old laying worker hive since the brood there was tiny drones.

I like to mist the bees I brush off the frames with a 50:50 vanalia to water mix to cover the scent they carry. You don't really need to though.

P.S. Close up your pant legs with rubber bands or some thing. Those brushed off bees like to crawl up inside if you don't.

 Al


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## Mavors (Mar 30, 2007)

Thanks for the tips Al. I've never had a worker laying hive yet, but I'm sure it's bound to happen at some point.

Mav


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## Judy in IN (Nov 28, 2003)

I once combined a laying worker colony with a small queen-right swarm. I put a screened bottom board between the two. Queenie took over, and all was good. 

Don't know if that would work again or not. Queen-right swarm was in the bottom super.


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