A conundrum

Angularity · Jun 30, 2018

My overall intention is to go into the winter with five strong colonies, with the hope of getting four out in the spring. Plus I want to be able to give a nuc to a new beekeeper, who lives in village C. So, with this in mind...

I have hive sites in villages A, B and C. Each is within three miles of the other two.

Village A has the following colonies:
1. Thriving Buckfast colony, 7 frames of BIAS last week
2. 3-frame nuc of local bees from a wild nest in the wrong place, no queen since they were split with the original owner last week
3. 6-frame colony from a swarm in May, unmarked queen
4. Three frame nuc, local swarm, marked queen
5. 2-frame nuc, queen cell due to hatch around Wednesday.

Village B has
1. Two-frame cast warm, hived two weeks ago and not looked at since
2. An empty place for a new hive

Village C has:
1. An empty space for a new hive.

I have a Carniolan queen on order for delivery on Wednesday (my regular inspection day).

I am rubbish at finding the queens, which can get in the way of hive manipulations.

How would you suggest I achieve my objectives?

Thanks, I know this reads like some sort of GCSE maths paper...

enrico · Jun 30, 2018

Not sure what you mean. Give a nuc away and you have six left, one queenless with a queen coming. Combine two and you have five left! Or am I missing something?
E

Angularity · Jun 30, 2018

It's the point about the sites being too close to guarantee that I won't end up with a garden full of lost bees, that is bothering me. Perhaps it doesn't matter?

enrico · Jun 30, 2018

Wait till winter and you can move them where you want!
E

madasafish · Jun 30, 2018

Angularity said:
It's the point about the sites being too close to guarantee that I won't end up with a garden full of lost bees, that is bothering me. Perhaps it doesn't matter?

As long as any bees which get lost end up in one of your hives, do you care?

And if the weather was not as good as it is, I would be close to advising you to consider uniting your small nucs for winter.. As it is, with this weather they each could easily fill one brood box with bees by August.

As you have not stated what your objectives are for this year.. I have no idea.