newbee, please help, reuniting

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justme

Field Bee
Joined
May 27, 2010
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896
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Location
Middle of Cornwall. uk
Hive Type
Other
Number of Hives
10(OSB hives)1 National
hi,
What am i missing here? I have a nuc that needs to be reunited due to queen failure. (been a nuc for 8 days).
I was going to use the newspaper method, set about getting everthing to the apiary (luckily in back garden) that I thought I'd need- including extra nuc box to make enough width to put other hive on and board to cover mt nuc, newspaper etc.

Then I realised that if I put the nuc boxes underneath how were the bees in the top box going to get out????

Thought about transferring nuc into brood box with dummy board and putting it on top, BUT, how were these bees going to get out?????

Do I need an eke with an entrance to put under top box or am I missing something obvious but vital????????

Please help as I'm completely missing something here.... :.(
 
If your Nuc box has solid floor- spray all the bees both colonies with sugar water and shake the Nuc into the brood.

If Nuc has removable floor put it over the feeder hole in the cover board with a newspaper over the feeder hole.

But a Nuc for 8 days is nothing- so ensure queen is removed - or be patient
 
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Not sure I entirely understand your dilemma - put the newspaper on top of the hive you are going to reunite to ( in place of the crown board, as it were), then put your nuc ( minus floor) on top of this. Bees in nuc will make there way through the newspaper in 24 hours, smells will mingle and they will unite happily. Are you saying that your nuc box has a fixed floor?

Make sure you have removed the failed queen in the nuc before doing this.
 
If your Nuc box has solid floor- spray all the bees both colonies with sugar water and shake the Nuc into the brood.

If Nuc has removable floor put it over the feeder hole in the cover board with a newspaper over the feeder hole.

But a Nuc for 8 days is nothing- so ensure queen is removed - or be patient
If your Nuc box has solid floor- spray all the bees both colonies with sugar water and shake the Nuc into the brood.

If Nuc has removable floor put it over the feeder hole in the cover board with a newspaper over the feeder hole.


Thanks Heather,
So I guess to use the newspaper method a removable floor is paramount makes sense.

Could someone tell me how to reunite with newspaper 2 x brood boxes from different colonies then. I'm sure I was told this was possible on my course, didn't seem to be an issue then:.)
 
2 colonies united is no problem.

You need 2 brood boxes with newspaper in between them.
Make some small slits in the newspaper with your hive tool,that way they will unite faster.
MAKE SURE YOU ONLY HAVE A SINGLE QUEEN AMOUNG BOTH BOX'S.

What makes you say you have a failed queen ?
Is she still in the nuc ?

To combine 2 different hive sizes together make a hole in a piece of board and nespaper the same as befor,does not matter how long and wide the board is as long as it covers both box's,although a sheet of 8 x 4 foot 18mm ply may be a bit OTT.
 
[/I]Not sure I entirely understand your dilemma - put the newspaper on top of the hive you are going to reunite to ( in place of the crown board, as it were), then put your nuc ( minus floor) on top of this. Bees in nuc will make there way through the newspaper in 24 hours, smells will mingle and they will unite happily. Are you saying that your nuc box has a fixed floor?

Yes sorry Plumberman, I did mean to say that, they were given to me by a beekeeper that I met last year, he had loads of wood given to him so he made several and gave them away.

My dilemma is/was that I thought that the flying bees needed to get back in, if already out and out if in. As it is so hot at the mo I thought this especially important. I guess then that it isn't necessary over the short term.

Thanks also Admin, as said above I thought both boxes needed an entrance. And I know 'what thought did' :.)
 
Forgot to say, failed queen was actually failed queen cells x2 each due to hatch and with 3 days between each. Got from Group apiary, guess they didnt travel well.
 
For the new beeks - it wasn't a nuc. A nucleus has a laying queen, along with house bees, foragers and brood at all stages. You got a split; bees but no queen.

Were these queen cells sealed when you got it? One normally includes two queen cells because one can be a dud. Unripe queen cells are particularly fragile and do not 'like to travel' as they are very susceptible to bumps and 'jars'.

Regards, RAB
 
Oh! oops. Yes, then it was a split. I got a spare queen cell, ready to hatch, twice over 4 days from group hives. They only had one at that stage each time. I had the 2nd one because the first one was destryed by the bees two days after it should've hatched, so a dud, 2nd went the same way. Hence need to reunite. Thanks all for your help:.)
 
Oh! oops. Yes, then it was a split. I got a spare queen cell, ready to hatch, twice over 4 days from group hives. They only had one at that stage each time. I had the 2nd one because the first one was destryed by the bees two days after it should've hatched, so a dud, 2nd went the same way. Hence need to reunite. Thanks all for your help:.)

Are you sre it did not hatch then pulled down
 
Hi, the cell was destroyed from the side, the end was still sealed. 2nd one still not hatched and should've 2 days ago.
 
Hi again,
Sorry to restart this thread but similar issue, what am I doing wrong. I did an A/S with a frame with 1 sealed 1 unsealed QC, I destroyed 2x small ones.

The same has happened as happened earlier on in this thread, ie, all the cells have been destroyed from the side, since then I gave them a frame of eggs, they started their own cells x2, now they have destroyed these.

I'm assuming that ALL QC's hatch from the bottom end. Has anyone ever seen signs that a queen has hatched from the side of the cell?

This frame was moved from one hive to another having only been placed down carefully to allow me to cover first hive and open second, with only 3 feet between them and no jarring, knocking or anything, weather was good.

Help:confused:
 
I think so hivemaker. I saw what I thought was a 'side destroyed' QC, then saw the new queen about ten seconds later. The cell end cap can spring back in to place after the queen has emerged, then the cell is torn down. Looks like the queen has emerged from the side. Took me ages to think it through.
 
I think so hivemaker. I saw what I thought was a 'side destroyed' QC, then saw the new queen about ten seconds later. The cell end cap can spring back in to place after the queen has emerged, then the cell is torn down. Looks like the queen has emerged from the side. Took me ages to think it through.

Hi Keith,
Ok, maybe so then, hopefully I'll have eggs very soon then:.)
 
Ok, maybe so then, hopefully I'll have eggs very soon then:.)

Pray for fine hot weather again if she's not already mated,and hope she has a pair of good wings,not deformed.
 
Hi Keith,
Ok, maybe so then, hopefully I'll have eggs very soon then:.)

Hi all. Today iv found some 1 day old eggs in the top reunited box:.) in the correct position so from a queen, just hope shes a fertile queen. More waiting.....
 

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