Combining nuc with hive

[deb]

I've got a swarm I collected about three weeks ago, currently in a 5 frame nuc.

They have a queen. Seen her. She looks good, though not laying yet, but comb drawn out on three frames.

I have a hive with a small, weak colony - with no brood, and on last inspection couldn't see a queen. However, there were open queen cells and it was a nice day, so she might have been 'out'.

I think I should put the nuc into the hive.

Question is, can I just put the nuc frames into the brood box of the hive during the day when the bees are flying? I have read this is possible.

Or - should I get another brood box and unite using the newspaper method - bearing in mind that the queen is in the nuc, and so would have to go underneath. This would mean moving the hive bees up from their normal position.

And - At present the nuc is situated about 10 feet from the hive. Do I need to move the nuc nearer to the hive gradually over a number of days before uniting them?

Thanks in anticipation of your various thoughts and opinions.

 

[oliver90owner]

First, you need to ascertain the status of the hive and remove the queen, if she is present. If you do not make certain, you risk losing your laying queen. A test frame where they draw queen cells is the best way.

I simply unite by the newspaper method with the nuc on top and a suitable closure to cover the other half of the hive.

Leave a week or two and then reorganise the frames.

You could do it by spraying all the bees with a scented spray and then unite, but I prefer the other way.

You could move both colonies towards each other by a metre each, if you were worried. Job done in one move and a flying day.

RAB

 

[Midland Beek]

Move the two colonies closer together, bit by bit. Do not re-arrange the furniture on a warm afternoon because you might have queens flying.

Simple rule of beekeeping ... do not get unting anything to anything until you know the status of each part. I think you have got to wait until you get good brood in your swarm - shouldn't be too long now if you collected it 3 weeks ago - and you have also got to try and determine the status of your dwindling colony. Uniting them now is just a spanner in the works - you might have queens flying or end up with a duff queen killing a good queen.

And at this time of the season with no/little honey in the fields and robber bees on the prowl and wasps bothering colonies you have got to unite with care, and that means using newspaper. You can fit the newspaper vertically in the hive (use newspaper whatever way to unite and it has to have starter holes) if you shuffle the frames around first.

 

[dickbowyer]

Why not wait and see what happens if you have the equipment? Weak hive might be superseding and if that virgin Queen mates and comes into lay, you could feed both hives and overwinter both with the chance of two viable colonies, both with a young Queen. I did similar last year and had to AS the "weak hive" in April. If it doesn't work out now, still time to unite in September.

 

[Skyhook]

Move the two colonies closer together, bit by bit. Do not re-arrange the furniture on a warm afternoon because you might have queens flying.

Simple rule of beekeeping ... do not get unting anything to anything until you know the status of each part. I think you have got to wait until you get good brood in your swarm - shouldn't be too long now if you collected it 3 weeks ago - and you have also got to try and determine the status of your dwindling colony. Uniting them now is just a spanner in the works - you might have queens flying or end up with a duff queen killing a good queen.

And at this time of the season with no/little honey in the fields and robber bees on the prowl and wasps bothering colonies you have got to unite with care, and that means using newspaper. You can fit the newspaper vertically in the hive (use newspaper whatever way to unite and it has to have starter holes) if you shuffle the frames around first.

The last thing you want to do is get rid of an up- and -coming queen in favour of one laying her last few fertilized eggs!