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Firstly, I think you're being greedy with your numbers. You have half a colony in hive 2. You intend to split this into 3, giving each colony 1/6 of the original- about the size of a small cast. That would be plenty for a mating nucleus, but each one is going to struggle to build up this...

Which is why you should oil your boards to get an accurate count. And if you don't want a count, get the boards out. .

There probably is an effect there, but this can be minimised by draining bees from the nuc into the hive by swapping sides: and a modest loss can be tolerated by hobbyists. That said, there is not a noticeable difference between those hives of mine which have been 'nuc'd' and those which haven't.

What jury's that then? Every report I've heard rates it as equal to or better than antibiotics. .

Thymol is very effective. I would suggest feeding with thymolised 1:1 syrup when you shook swarm. This will give them resources to draw the frames, whilst blocking transmission of nosema to the new frames. .

It's now my method of choice- I find it simpler than AS, less kit required, and totally effective. .

Worth noting that nucs aren't ideal bait hives- they prefer a larger space, eg a BB.

That's what I thought, so not sure of the relevance of the question about prime swarms. All the flying bees should have still been there as no swarm had issued, so plenty of material if there was a 2nd cell. Alternatively, have you checked the nuc to see if the old queen is still there? Of...

That one.

This bit's confusing me- are you saying the old queen was still present?

Bear in mind my earlier warning- this is not a good time to get queens accepted. If they're not too bad I would leave it until the end of the season.

Very few of the generalisations hold water. You can have quiet or aggressive Carniolans, buckfasts, italians or black bees. I had an aggressive bought-in Buckfast (superbees) who produced a lovely calm hybrid daughter. Could they be queenless? Two common causes for sudden aggression are...

Framed wire excluders are miles better thn anything else for this reason. .

Like he said- except I do like to take the attendants out. It sounds like your bees have superceded- congratulations! .

Do you clip your queens? Sounds like a swarm has issued, the queen has nose-dived, and they're trying to work out what to do about it.

You haven't seen my carpentry. A lot of the problems with my hives are down to a poorly fitting crowbar.

Well done to the Portsmouth news- they actually listened to the beekeeper, and got the facts right- possibly the first time a british newspaper has ever understood what a swarm is! .

It makes quite a difference what sort of bees they are. If they are bumble bees (furry) then there is unlikely to be an issue. A bumble bee colony lasts one summer, and never gets bigger than a few hundred bees. However they do vary- there is a type called the tree bumble (Bombus hypnorum-...

I think Pete D's answer really covers everything. Work through the stages he suggests, and I hope you manage to reach an outcome satisfactory to all parties.

When the workers think a virgin is due to go on mating flights, they can harrass her until she leaves the hive. Could that be what you saw? If you are out of boxes then you may have to combine and let them get on with it. You say the bees are only on 3 frames. If you do combine, remove the...