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Shaking Bees into the Box <br /> • Shake the bees into the hive (Figure 30) and carefully spread them out on the bottom board with your <br /> hive tool, as Dr. Furgala used to say, "like spreading sauce on pizza." <br /> • Mist the queen very lightly with sugar syrup so that she does not fly into the air when released in the <br /> hive. <br /> • To release the queen, use the "Direct Release" method of queen introduction: lower the queen cage <br /> into the hive, remove the staple with your hive tool, and gently peel away the screen while keeping the <br /> cage low in the hive against the foundation (Figure 31). Let the queen walk out onto the foundation. <br /> • A common mistake is to open the queen cage above the tops of the frames, which increases the <br /> chances the queen might fly off. It is important to release the queen on the bottom part of a frame at the <br /> bottom of the box, near the pile of bees. She will quickly move into the colony and be accepted readily <br /> by the bees. <br /> • Carefully replace the four frames. Do not force the frames down into the bees on the bottom board <br /> because that will squash them. <br /> Releasing the Queen From a Package <br /> There are other methods to introduce the queen into a new package of <br /> bees, including leaving the queen caged and letting workers chew their <br /> way through a candy plug in the cage to release her (after removing the <br /> Words of cork/plug on the candy edge of the cage). Since the package has had the <br /> Wisdom queen in it for at least 3 days, the bees will accept her immediately. Directly • <br /> releasing the queen the day you hive the package is the best method. <br /> ,»►►iii <br /> 16 <br /> My Queen Flew Off! <br /> _ <br /> i11 s ,e, the queen does fly off, carefully replace the frames and leave the hive open <br /> gb for about 5-10 minutes. Generally, she will return, and you may or may not <br /> see her fly back in. Queens are smart. Before they fly away, they orient to <br /> landmarks around their location (kind of like remembering where you parked <br /> Biology <br /> your car). You are a major landmark around the hive, so stay put, and chances <br /> BOX are she will orient back to you and her colony. If she does not return (you will <br /> know in 4-7 days on your first inspection), you will need to order a new queen <br /> and use a "slow release" method of introduction (in the section called "The Great Divide"). To avoid <br /> all this hassle and expense, lightly mist the queen with syrup, reach down in there and open the cage <br /> directly onto the bottom of a frame near the cluster of bees. Scared to put your hands down in there? <br /> Take a deep breath and get into your bees. You are now a beekeeper! <br /> • <br /> Beekeeping in Northern Climates 32 <br />