Re-combining

[steve_e]

When you recombine two colonies into one after carrying out an artificial swarm, does it matter whether you merge the colonies back into the original hive space or to the temporarily established new one?

And using the method of a newspaper between the two colonies, do the flying bees which are in the 'new' place re-orientate automatically to their new home?

 

[protheroe]

as long as the two colonies are about 3 feet apart,choose the queen you want to keep and then combine,you can sort out the frames later.If the hives are too far apart,when you combine them,you will lose the flying bees from one of the colonies

 

[steve_e]

Thanks protheroe - they're very close (about 2ft apart). So they'll all find their way back to the single remaining colony without major warfare?

 

[enrico]

Theory says that the queen right hive should go on top of the newspaper.

 

[enrico]

They will accept flying bees usually as they are coming back bearing gifts. If you combine as late as possible in the day it helps no end.

 

[protheroe]

Theory says that the queen right hive should go on top of the newspaper.

am i bad,i normally do it the other way around

 

[Finman]

.
Do you have queen cells in brood part or virgin or mated virgin?

If there are queen cells, the hive may swarm if you join them.

To combine too early they generate again swarm mode.

Second thing is that if you have a new queen there, leave it into joined hive.
You may make a nuc with old queen for spare if something happens.

I never use newspaper. I just put them together.

.

 

[Finman]

They will accept flying bees usually as they are coming back bearing gifts. If you combine as late as possible in the day it helps no end.

End of day is bad time to do these things. Bees are angry and if they flye they do not know where to go.

I join them on nice day when they have time to look the new hive site.
in two hours they have found the new site and flye didectly to new home.

One way is move boath half way.

.

 

[protheroe]

I dont use newspaper either,just a quick spray of air freshener,works fine for me

 

[enrico]

Fair comments
E

 

[steve_e]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Finman, at the moment there's the old queen in one and a single queen cell in the other which should by now have hatched and possibly even had her mating flight.

I'm not too fussed which Queen I keep as I'm intending to replace them both with a new mated Queen - I've had problems with this colony over the last year as they are very swarmy so I want to re-queen with different genes.