Trap out question

[czman11]

If you don't have any brood, can you set a trap out with a new queen in the trap?

[G3farms]

Can not say for sure have not tried it that way, but if I did I would wait a couple of days before introducing her to them. This will give time for an abundance of worker bees to accumulate in the catch hive, loose the scent of their original queen and realize they are indeed queenless.

Now that I have written this and reread it, I am just wondering what would it take to lure them into the bait hive. The returning foragers would not just head for the bait hive, upon returning they will land at the base of the cone and can still "smell" their queens pheromones. Old drawn comb would be my choice along with a little lemongrass oil.

Do you know of another keep close by that would sell, loan or give you a frame of brood? Local bee club? Swarm?

Give it a try and see what happens, would like to know the results.

[AllenF]

I had a small 2 frame nuc that I placed into a 10 frame box and used for a trap out once.  Worked great.  They filled 2 deep boxes in just weeks.

[Robo]

If you don't have any brood, can you set a trap out with a new queen in the trap?

Yes, just keep her caged for a few days.

[czman11]

Thanks everybody for your input. I actually did set out a trap in a tree and inside is cage with the queen. My only worry would be that they would not move in if there is no brood. I will check on them today and see. Last night, there were less bees around the cone than earlier so assumed that some of them moved in but I did not see any traffic at the entrance accept 1 bee that went inside. That got me worry that the bees are not accepting the box.