Combining colony

[sean-a]

I have two colonies which have swarmed and have been slow to build back up.
Both have queens, so I took one queen and three frames and sealed them in a nuc.

I have put the rest of the frames above the other colony separated by newspaper.

The last time I tried to put a queen in a nuc, the bees all absconded and the nuc was robbed out.

I have sealed them in this time, and they have been sealed in for two days.
I opened them last night and they all seem pretty happy, a bit of the brood has emerged. The nuc is in the shade.

Am I good to let them out now?

 

[maddydog]

Yes, but you said they struggled to build up as a full colony so chances are they're not going to be great as a nuc. Chances are the q is old and/or failing. Dummy/insulate the nuc and a feed are options as is reducing the entrance.

 

[Karsal]

Yes you could let them out. Make the entrance small for them to defend better and maybe if the weather stays cool and inclement pop some 1:1 syrup on to give them a boost.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

Keep an eye on robbing; I would leave the feeding for a few days.

 

[beeno]

Unless you made sure you got mainly nurse bees in the nuc you will lose some foragers to the original colony. Those foragers will be the ones doing the robbing, so wait for them to return to the original hive before feeding.