interesting thought

[wibble]

I had my one hive swarm last week, only it had 3 months; it was my first hive and from a collected swarm.

I managed to recover my swarm from my nieghbours house and put into a nuc such that it and the main hive are about 40 yards apart in the same garden.

I'm not financially in a position to take on another hive so i had a thought.

From what I've learned I can't just dump the swarm back into thier original hive as they will bugger off again.

I could move the nuc back towards the original hive a bit at a time an then unite using icing sugar or newspaper

Or... what if I transferred frames, cleaned of all bees, back into the main hive as they become full of capped brood and remove ones of mainly stores/little brood into nuc ?

My thinking is that the newly emerging workers won't know that this was thier "parents" home from which they swarmed and the Bees in there will not be bothered by them as they will have taken on the hive "essence" as they will be new born.

The nuc will slowly dwindle away, which is fine, I end up with a strong original hive and have a "spare queen" in the nuc.

Just a thought.........................

 

[Anduril]

Looking at your avatar, did you add any supers when the brood box built up strongly? To give them more room.

 

[wibble]

I did but then took it off to put on a miller feeder as I was hearing about a low to non-exsistant nectar flow.

 

[maddydog]

I'd keep them separate for now. Let them raise a new queen from the original colony ie reduce to one (max 2) open queen cells. When she's a proven layer unite. Your original q is likely getting on if she's swarmed twice already so needs to go and I don't me in to next door's chimney!

 

[maddydog]

Money may be tight but you really need a spare bit of kit. Possible to get away with a brood box,frames,foundation if you vertical AS

 

[MartinL]

The nuc will slowly dwindle away, which is fine, I end up with a strong original hive and have a "spare queen" in the nuc.

Just a thought.........................

And a weak, (likely) disease ridden nuc waiting to infect anything within a mile?

 

[Anduril]

I did but then took it off to put on a miller feeder as I was hearing about a low to non-exsistant nectar flow.

Sounds like the hive became syrup bound, which made them swarm.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Sounds like the hive became syrup bound, which made them swarm.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I did but then took it off to put on a miller feeder as I was hearing about a low to non-exsistant nectar flow.

Did you check inside the brood box/super before you fed them?
And do you know how much honey the bees need to last them a week without foraging?

 

[Finman]

Sounds like the hive became syrup bound, which made them swarm.

Hormones of reproduction makes them swarm.
You cannot avoid it.

.
.

 

[Anduril]

Hormones of reproduction makes them swarm.
You cannot avoid it.

.
.

 

[Cussword]

Calm down, you'll do yourself a mischief.