Swap a Drone laying hive with a nuc?

[sean-a]

Found a hive full of drones and drone brood
Not a packed hive but still quite full.
Rather than shaking ithe hive out, I was wondering if I just move the hive off the stand and replace it with a small Nuc, I could mop up the workers from the hive when they fly back to the stand

Would this risk the queen in the Nuc?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Found a hive full of drones and drone brood
Not a packed hive but still quite full.
Rather than shaking ithe hive out, I was wondering if I just move the hive off the stand and replace it with a small Nuc, I could mop up the workers from the hive when they fly back to the stand

Would this risk the queen in the Nuc?

a) you don't say whether it's laying workers or a DLQ
b) regardless of that the whole colony is doomed and a total waste of resource.
The best return you can get is to shake them out, at least any 'useful' worker will find her way into a viable colony and be of some use until she dies.

 

[sean-a]

Guess I was asking whether better to shake out
or
Remove the hive and replace with a nuc, any flying bees would return to Nuc and boost it

Don't want to overwhelm the queen in the Nuc though

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Guess I was asking whether better to shake out

............and I said it's far better to shake them out

 

[sean-a]

............and I said it's far better to shake them out

Ah! Thanks JBM

 

[Erichalfbee]

But don’t shake them out when it’s cold and the bees aren’t flying.
it has been known.

 

[ericbeaumont]

better to shake out

No need to shake out too far, esp. when temps. are marginal. A sloped board up to the Q+ colony entrance is enough; I shake them on to it and bees start fanning and move in naturally.

Remove the hive and replace with a nuc, any flying bees would return to Nuc and boost it

Would work without risk to the nuc queen, but be prepared to do another varroa treatment because a box full of drones will bring with it a lot of varroa.

laying workers or a DLQ

Which is it, Sean?

 

[Penninetrader]

Found a hive full of drones and drone brood
Not a packed hive but still quite full.
Rather than shaking ithe hive out, I was wondering if I just move the hive off the stand and replace it with a small Nuc, I could mop up the workers from the hive when they fly back to the stand

Would this risk the queen in the Nuc?

The Queen has proved her worth, which is not much at all
Follow Jenkins advice is my advice

 

[sean-a]

I don't know whether workers or dlq
I didn't spot the queen and light was too poor to look for multiple eggs
Hive had patchy brood and stuffed full of drones

I will just shake them out, the Nuc looks plenty strong enough to make it through winter in poly

 

[ericbeaumont]

workers or dlq

patchy brood

Scattered? Likely laying workers.
Condensed: DLQ

 

[sean-a]

shook them out, dry sunny and 15 degrees
Shook them in the middle of the apiary so they have 5 other homes to beg their way into.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

shook them out, dry sunny and 15 degrees
Shook them in the middle of the apiary so they have 5 other homes to beg their way into.

exactly what I would have done