Author: Dr. Andreas Kokott (July 2026)
Various methods and tips for adding queens are explained online, in textbooks, and in trade magazines. Our bee sponsor showed us a very simple and quick method over 20 years ago. A similar version can also be found in “Practical Beekeeper’s Tips” by Wolfgang Golz (1977, Zeidel-Verlag, Brochure IV, page 17).
The method is described below and illustrated with pictures. Typically, the queen is kept with a few attendant bees in a shipping or addition cage (Figure 1). The cage is opened by removing a plastic cover (Figure 2). The bees eat the feeding dough, thereby opening the cage’s exit for the queen, who can then enter the hive through the opening.
Fig.1: Cage with queen and nurse bees. The cage is sealed with food dough (right area below the label).
Fig.2: After opening the plastic cover, you can see the white food dough blocking the queen’s exit.
Take a paper tissue and soak it with clear liquor (Image 3). We use approximately one shot glass (Image 4).
Fig. 3: Liquor is poured onto a paper tissue.
Fig. 4: Handkerchief soaked in liquor
Now, increase the space between two combs or remove a comb and insert the soaked handkerchief (Image 5). While the alcohol evaporates, push the combs together or reattach the missing comb.
Fig. 5: The paper tissue is thrown between two combs at the bottom of the hive.
The queen cage is now attached between two combs. We use a toothpick, which we push through the eyelet on the queen cage (Image 6).
Fig. 6: Using a toothpick, we secure the cage with the queen in a comb row.
Contrary to the instructions in Wolfgang Golz’s booklet, which advises against placing the handkerchief near the queen cage, we place the cage in the same or adjacent comb row where we placed the handkerchief. The bees break down the handkerchief, and its remnants later lie in front of the entrance.
When choosing the alcohol, we use a clear liquor of drinking strength. Spirits should not be used because of the excessively high alcohol concentration and, above all, because of the denaturant. The alcohol apparently causes the colony to lose its memory of the queen’s scent. Using this method, we were able to add queens without any problems from spring to fall. If you remove an old queen before adding a new one, you can wait 1-2 hours before treating her with alcohol and adding her, but we have not had any problems so far if the queen was added immediately after removal.