Help please with swapping over bees into hive and some into nuc

[Martimart]

The situation is this.

1x Hive which was a swarm from one of my other hives a month ago. Brood box fully drawn and has 3 supers on almost full. 14x 12 hive.

1 x Nuc box again 14 x 12 housing aswarm from about a month ago and these need to go into a hive.

The hive at inspection yesterday has no eggs or young larvae and bees are pinging off the veil, so assuming for some reason they are queenless. I removed 1 QC which leaves 1 left on a marked frame.

I plan to take out the QC frame plus 4 others from the hive, and swapping over with the queen and4 frames from the Nuc box which needs to be in a bigger box.
I don’t have any spare equipment, I have preferred another 14x 12 hive from thornes but expected delivery is still a week away.

if I take the frames out of the Hive first, place them to one side, then put the queen and fra,Ed from the Nuc straight in and then replace those with the Hive frames…. Is that a plan or will it crumble into dust?

 

[enrico]

I am a bit confused. A swarm from a month ago has has fully drawn a brood box and filled three supers and now has a queen cell? Really?
A straight swap is unlikely to work although you could try it with air freshener and hope for the best.
Why can't you just leave them with the queen cell and wait for your new hive? You seem to be making things harder than they are!
Do tell me if I am missing the point!
E

 

[Erichalfbee]

Do you mean that the hive with the supers is the one that swarmed and the nuc is where the swarm is?

 

[enrico]

Do you mean that the hive with the supers is the one that swarmed and the nuc is where the swarm is?

Ah! That makes more sense!

 

[Martimart]

Do you mean that the hive with the supers is the one that swarmed and the nuc is where the swarm is?

I know its strange!!

my hive swarmed 13th April I collected it in a 14x12 Nuc box. I checked it on the Saturday 16th and it was obviously far too large to stay ther, so I put them in a 14x12 full sized hive. After a week they had drawn out the brood box and she’d laid in 3 full frames, so I put on super and continued to add them. As of yesterday they have 3 supers 2 full but about 50% capped, the other is just started to be filled. However they are Queenless. She’s my marked queen from my hive, and there‘s no small larvae or eggs, just larvae about 5 days old.

I know it sounds bonkers but its true.

 

[Martimart]

Do you mean that the hive with the supers is the one that swarmed and the nuc is where the swarm is?

They both are my swarms They both swarmed on the 13th and 15th of April, one of my swarms was very large and went into the Nuc box and then after a few days into the hive, the second one to swarm was rather small. I thought it was a cast, but after checking it has my white marked queen in, so she’s stayed in the Nuc box. But she’s ready to move out now.

Would the manipulation I mentioned above work ?

 

[enrico]

I know its strange!!

my hive swarmed 13th April I collected it in a 14x12 Nuc box. I checked it on the Saturday 16th and it was obviously far too large to stay ther, so I put them in a 14x12 full sized hive. After a week they had drawn out the brood box and she’d laid in 3 full frames, so I put on super and continued to add them. As of yesterday they have 3 supers 2 full but about 50% capped, the other is just started to be filled. However they are Queenless. She’s my marked queen from my hive, and there‘s no small larvae or eggs, just larvae about 5 days old.

I know it sounds bonkers but its true.

In which case be patient and leave them to it. They may be trying to replace an old queen. Just leave the queen cell that is there

 

[enrico]

They both are my swarms They both swarmed on the 13th and 15th of April, one of my swarms was very large and went into the Nuc box and then after a few days into the hive, the second one to swarm was rather small. I thought it was a cast, but after checking it has my white marked queen in, so she’s stayed in the Nuc box. But she’s ready to move out now.

Would the manipulation I mentioned above work ?

The only manipulation I would do is make sure one hive is queen less and then combine the two. You can do as you say and risk it with an air freshener combine but you MUST make sure one of them is 100% queenless
Just to be clear those swarms must have come from different hives for you to get your marked queen in the second swarm!
E

 

[Martimart]

The only manipulation I would do is make sure one hive is queen less and then combine the two. You can do as you say and risk it with an air freshener combine but you MUST make sure one of them is 100% queenless
Just to be clear those swarms must have come from different hives for you to get your marked queen in the second swarm!
E

thank you, I’ll have a think and decide what to do. The swarms I’m 99% sure are both from the hives I set up last year. Both swarms were checked within 48hrs of putting into boxes and they both had white marked queens. They swarmed 2 days apart. Both the original hives now have unmarked queens and from April swarm 1 of the new queens is now laying, the other isn’t yet.

 

[enrico]

Ok, now I understand all the facts I would leave the hive as it is and move the nuc into your ordered hive as soon as it arrives. I think you are asking for trouble trying to swap a queen into what may not be a queenless hive.
Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[Martimart]

Ok, now I understand all the facts I would leave the hive as it is and move the nuc into your ordered hive as soon as it arrives. I think you are asking for trouble trying to swap a queen into what may not be a queenless hive.
Good luck with whatever you decide!

Thank you, taking your advice on board I will leave them and see what happens with the presumed queenless hive.