If you had to give one away..

[Jimmy]

If you had to give away either the queen + foragers or the brood + house bees which would it be?
Assuming the colony is strong, healthy, good tempered etc

 

[Terry G]

If you had to give away either the queen + foragers or the brood + house bees which would it be?
Assuming the colony is strong, healthy, good tempered etc

Right now, all of the b*ggers!

 

[Meg]

Queen and foragers. Oops! Edit here - KEEP Q and F's and gift the brood. Rest might make sense now.

Nice new comb all sorted for another couple of years and good production too. No waiting uncertainly for a new queen to get made and mated and laying without accident... - even 'though I love queen rearing!

I guess it is all about control.

Meg

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Old queen and foragers
Nurse bees and brood with (I assume) sealed QC thus unmated and unproven.

It is a difficult one really (not being facetious here) you are looking at older (possibly a few years old) queen but proven record, or a prospective young, new vigorous queen but untried yet.
If the new queen had been mated and was proven laying well, I'd be prepared to give the old one away, but would it be right to gift someone an old knackered queen and colony?

 

[drstitson]

keep queen (assuming ok) and foragers. nice start for a new varroa free colony (assuming you treat with OA).

the gift would include loads of mites in cells and, assuming eggs present, the chance to raise an unknown quantity queen.


BTW who gets to keep the drones?????

 

[dn170221]

keep queen (assuming ok) and foragers. nice start for a new varroa free colony (assuming you treat with OA).

the gift would include loads of mites in cells and, assuming eggs present, the chance to raise an unknown quantity queen.


BTW who gets to keep the drones?????

 

[Jimmy]

Question stemmed from collecting a swarm from an over-whelmed 2 hive beekeeper. The swarm was in a box about 3 meters from the parent hive. I think it's a 2013 queen, so now the OSR is finishing hopefully she'll settle in for the rest of the season. If not, regicide.