I don't know about the "best way", but here is my way:
I am currently switching from WBC (National really) to Dadant, did the last one today. I am obviously therefore not going to be able to transfer frames or use any sort of frame adaptor, so existing frames will be rehoused in nucs or broken down.
- Before starting, ensure colony is STRONG!!! This is a very stressful experience for the bees.
- Find and cage queen for 1 week (I also mark & clip if not already done) prior so you won't be wasting lots of eggs & grubs.
- After a week, have new hive ready next to original, remove the central 4-5 frames in centre of new hive, choose a sunny day early to mid afternoon, although I have done this as late as 7pm, as they then tend to get in the hive quicker (but you also have all the flying bees to cope with).
- Put caged queen between last two frames in old hive.
- Starting at opposite end of old hive, take out end frame and shake it into new hive, into the space you created by removing the central frames - the bees should rain down into this space, then usually walk up the outer frames.
- Brush any remaining bees into new hive, although I try to shake more than brush, as brushing annoys them.
- Put old frame into cardboard box, spare b/b, or whatever else will minimise bees going back to it.
- Repeat for remaining frames as quickly as possible but also as gently as possible.
- Roughly half way through shaking the frames, I move the queen, still in her cage, into the new hive - I hang the cage deep in between two frames at the end I started shaking the bees in (which is now the quieter end of the hive) using a 6" length of copper wire or similar.
- Finish shaking the bees in, put feeder on top, hang queen cage with queen in between centre frames, feed 1:1 syrup 4-6 litres-ish, irrespective of nectar flow, put roof on new hive. Leave alone for 24-48 hours.
- Go back to your box or brood box, remove any bees which might have wandered back; I then stack my old brood boxes and supers well away from this hive, seal with plastic tarp or similar and leave until nightfall.
-Return to old b/boxes and supers when cold & dark, & you can then sort through which frames to keep, which to extract, etc etc at your leisure. I do this at night as bees are constantly emerging from the brood frames, but the cold (or perhaps more appropriately the lack of heat from being in a populated hive) slows this down, and also makes the bees sluggish.
- Release queen within 24-48 hours in new hive. I keep her caged for this amount of time after doing the A/S as I don't want her damaged with all the excitement of moving house going on.
This is the first time I have done this and changed frame size at the same time as opposed to doing a "standard" S/S.
The advantages as far as I can tell are:
- I am getting rid of a considerable amount of varroa, as it is being left behind in the existing frames.
- The bees are getting lots of brand new foundation to draw out which they love as they really do think they have swarmed.
- Caging the queen for a week so as not to kill too much very young eggs & brood also means I get quite a few queen cells for redistribution - I imagine this is because the bees can see no eggs, so assume the queen is failing.
- As an alternative to just caging the queen for a week, I cage her for two days, then put her in the Jenter for a day, then back in the cage. I get a perfectly laid out Jenter, every time.
Hope this helps, have plenty of smoke on hand, and smoking material, as you will be bathed in bees, and you don't want to have to interrupt the whole thing to go and get your smoker, lighter, blowtorch etc. I also use sugar syrup in a spray bottle to keep them busy once they are in the new hive.
Forgot to say: I don't use all the frames initially - I leave 2-3 out, and use a dummy board, then after a week insert them into the middle of the hive: I find they get drawn out and filled with brood very quickly
