Removed colony from compost bin

[Jake]

Hi guys what's ur thoughts on this situation and any ideas.
So we removed a colony from a compost bin 2 weeks ago pretty sure we go the queen, we did the white sheet and nuc method and they climbed into nuc. They then were place in my spare brand new hive so only foundation, I have given them feed. I'm still not seeing any bees fly in or out also they don't seem to be using any feed still same level 2 weeks on.
I'm guessing alot were new bees,
I was planning on leaving them for a month before inspection but thinking I should have a quick look

 

[Erichalfbee]

You need to look.
There may not be any bees in there

 

[Jake]

I put queen excluder under brood box and I have seen a few bees in feeder but not feeding just standing there like they don't know what to do

 

[Erichalfbee]

Well take the top off and look then come back and tell us what’s there.

 

[Jake]

Yep I will have a look on Friday when I do my inspections on other hive

 

[Jake]

Checked today and there was only about 6 bees in there, so I don't know what's happened, I can't imagine they have swarmed as I had queen excluder under brood, there was a few dead bees

 

[pargyle]

Checked today and there was only about 6 bees in there, so I don't know what's happened, I can't imagine they have swarmed as I had queen excluder under brood, there was a few dead bees

Not swarmed - absconded. How far away from the compost bin cut out did you have the hive you put them in located ? They may have gone back to the compost bin if it was less than 3 miles as the bee flies.

Was there any comb they had built in the compost bin .. if there was I would have transferred that into the frames in their new home. Nothing anchors bees better than a few frames of their brood, usual way is to tie the comb into the empty frames with big rubber bands.

If it was just a swarm and they had not made a home in the compost bin they may have found somewhere more desirable to go and live than your empty box .. swarm queens can be a bit on the slim side and can slip through a queen excluder and away they went to a hollow tree or a chimney pot !

Whatever happened .. they are gone !

 

[Jake]

Compost bin is prob around 3 miles away and they had made home alot of comb on the lid

 

[pargyle]

Compost bin is prob around 3 miles away and they had made home alot of comb on the lid

Did you transfer the comb they had built to the new box you put them in ?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Compost bin is prob around 3 miles away and they had made home alot of comb on the lid

You said you put them on foundation
You should have saved their comb

 

[Jake]

Nope person I helped to remove them decided not to as she had issues before where they would take to foundation only interested in their comb

 

[pargyle]

Nope person I helped to remove them decided not to as she had issues before where they would take to foundation only interested in their comb

Totally incompetent notion ... yes they will continue to build on the existing comb but if they had built some comb out then they would, almost certainly, have some brood in it and that will anchor them even if it was only a small amount.

It''s too late now but it's very easy to cut and shut free comb from a cut oiut and put it into your frames - if you fasten it into the frames in as straight a fashion as you can they will build on it and make a full frame of comb. There might be a few lumps and bumps in it but you can straighten and cut it over time - or, if you are desperate for perfect comb in your frames, you can work it out over time and replace it with frames of foundation. I still have brood frames in one of my hives that originated with bits of comb wired in from a compost bin cut out .. one even still has bits of rubber band embedded in it and the bees just work around it.

I do wonder, sometimes, where people giving advice about some aspects of beekeeping get their ideas from ... I would be very wary about listening to any advice from the beekeeper you helped with the cut out in future.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Totally incompetent notion ...

I do wonder, sometimes, where people giving advice about some aspects of beekeeping get their ideas from ... I would be very wary about listening to any advice from the beekeeper you helped with the cut out in future.

Beginners with little knowledge and no common sense giving advice to other beginners is a source of much vitriol on social media. There are nice ways to correct people and not so nice so thanks Philip for your gentle correction.

 

[pargyle]

Beginners with little knowledge and no common sense giving advice to other beginners is a source of much vitriol on social media. There are nice ways to correct people and not so nice so thanks Philip for your gentle correction.

Unfortunately, some of the incompetent advice I've heard and seen over the years has come not from beginners but from beekeepers with years of beekeeping under their belt .. and who seem to have a lot less common sense than many of the beginners that I see on here !

Fortunately, there is some great advice on here and the opportunity for all of us, not just beginnners, to get a variety of opinions gives you a greater chance of making the right decision, keeping your bees alive and at times finding innovations and ideas that you won't find in the bee books.