shake out or bleed off?

[acabee]

Situation:
hive 1 drone laying worker hive - quite full of bees, but not doing much. Three test frames later, still not raising queen cells. Queenless since May, so have given up on them as functioning hive.

hive 2: 4 frames brood; 6 seams of bees, queenright.

I would like to boost this second hive with some bees from first, but can't merge directly for obvious reasons. Should I shake out DLW hive in one go or move DLW hive around the apiary (eg over a week) to slowly bleed off flyers into the new hive?

I don't want to swamp new hive and risk loss of queen amidst any fighting etc.

thanks
acabee

 

[user 6228]

My GUESSwork is you empty them out and let them flyback to old hive. You coat them in some syrup/powdered sugar/water to temporarily ground them.Then put quantites of them in supers above other hives separated by newpaper from the main hives.
That should result inthem getting in without fight and easily dividing them how you want to...
Can someone with experience comment

 

[Eric knockalt]

United two of mine with some icing sugar and mist of water over excuder and newspaper they were through the paper by morning and are very happy together .Queenless hive on top .

 

[acabee]

Thanks Eric and Derekm. My concern is the Drone Laying Workers in hive 1. If I united directly (ie using paper) would the DLWs interfere with the queenright hive and possibly risk the queen from hive 2? I'm not sure how they DLWs might do that, but am being v cautious nonetheless with my good queen (bess).

acabee

 

[Haughton Honey]

Thanks Eric and Derekm. My concern is the Drone Laying Workers in hive 1. If I united directly (ie using paper) would the DLWs interfere with the queenright hive and possibly risk the queen from hive 2? I'm not sure how they DLWs might do that, but am being v cautious nonetheless with my good queen (bess).

acabee

Quite probably. It's happened to me before.

Best take them out 50+ yards from their stand and shake them out. Remove the hive from the apiary for 5-7 days or so.

 

[user 6228]

Thanks Eric and Derekm. My concern is the Drone Laying Workers in hive 1. If I united directly (ie using paper) would the DLWs interfere with the queenright hive and possibly risk the queen from hive 2? I'm not sure how they DLWs might do that, but am being v cautious nonetheless with my good queen (bess).

acabee

Possibly hence why I said shake out several meters infront of their own hive... the DLW should be left behind, you then have a Q- DLW- hive( without DLW). Then merge the the Q- DLW- hive with other hives by paper