I mentioned in another post about all my hives swarming within a week and have always let the hives produce a new queen on their own. This year I wanted to requeen one of the old hives with a new Minnesota hygienic queen, so ordered right away via Express Mail, hoping to introduce before a new queen had emerged. That was almost two weeks ago.

Due to really bad weather, the supplier couldn't ship until today. The old hive almost certainly has a new queen by now, and I'm TERRIBLE about finding the queen! I've only seen queens before in my hives by accident, and usually just check for fresh eggs and good brood pattern to keep from disturbing the girls too long.

I'm really afraid I won't find the existing queen and be able to remove her before introducing the new one and could really use some encouragement and hints for a better chance at success. This new queen is expensive, and I don't want to mess it up!