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Post by animal123 on Jan 30, 2011 17:57:41 GMT 1
Yes as Flavus said dipping them in water will help.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2011 19:25:05 GMT 1
I've successfully done it before, although only with a lone queen and one or two orphened workers. The best way to do it is not introduce the workers immediately after you've caught them. The longer they are orphaned, the more susceptible they are to an adopting queen. Bathing them probably helps too, though I never did that.
After a few days, put one in with the queen and see how they do. A lone worker will rarely attack the queen, at worst they will just ignore each other. If that's happening, then it won't work, although when I did it, the queen grabbed the worker and stuck all it's pheremone on it. If it seems to work, then you could consider adding another one, perhaps a day or two later. Just don't introduce lots, or there'd be confusion and probably fighting.
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Post by Myrm on Jan 30, 2011 19:28:09 GMT 1
Good advice by Gareth. <exalt>
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2011 19:34:24 GMT 1
Yes, I agree with you Gareth on waiting awhile before putting the workers in. I would wait a week or two and make sure the workers are fed and looked after just like you would a colony. I would then do the bathing technique. Basically take a q-tip and let the worker walk on it. Gently submerge the worker into a glass of water for 5 seconds and pull her out. You must place her in slowly and pull her out slowly as sometimes they will fall off if you are not careful. Repeat this about three times and then place her into her own container and wait until she has washed herself off. As soon as she is happy and walking around continue on with the fridge technique. You need to let the worker chill for 10-15 minutes and then gently place her in with the queen. Watch them carefully for at least 15 minutes and if there is any fighting than immediately remove either the queen or the worker. (Preferably the worker.) Just check back every fifteen minutes until you feel satisfied that they will not fight. I would not add more than one worker every two to three days as you want to let the workers get comfotable with the queen. Flavus
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2011 19:37:11 GMT 1
That said though, I never had any long term success with this method. The queen just didn't lay. The workers died off and then after a while on her own again, she did too eventually. I did it largely as an experiment and I had a few queens I caught at the time anyway. None were successful though, even the ones I kept on their own. It's not something I'd recommend doing if you only have one queen and she happens to be your pride and joy.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2011 19:43:36 GMT 1
That had to have been bad luck then Gareth.
I have used the above method several times. I did have one fatality however that was due to my lack of checking on her constantly. The other ones all worked out.
I did notice that the queens produced less brood than the un-boosted ones. I just assumed that the boosted queen was not producing un-fertilized eggs that were destined to be eaten.
Flavus
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