Uniting two colonies far apart

[Swarm]

A beekeeping friend came over and helped me locate the queen! So, she is now marked which gives me a bit of confidence to think again about the unite. Surprisingly the hive was not as weak as it was a week ago so am inclined to give it a second chance.

The swarm from this hive about 6 weeks ago is going great guns - neither hive is preparing to swarm again in the near future. These were the two hive I intended to unite.

Good decision.

 

[Monbees]

Thank you Swarm; my instinct is usually to let bees do their own thing, perhaps I should have stayed with that rather than trying to mess them around too much.

 

[Swarm]

I've watched a colony this season, last year she was happy with a seven frame brood nest, made no attempt to swarm, they produced a nice harvest.
This year they were behaving much the same, seven frames of brood, pottering along. Noticed the numbers appeared to have increased a week ago, didn't bother inspecting but gave them a third super for a bit of space.
Lots of bees in the three supers yesterday but the population explosion below the excluder was something else, with each frame thick with festooning bees. I was scooping handfuls off the bottom of the frames.
Two frames in and brushing the bees gently with the back of my fingers revealed the queen (she does like the limelight) and there on the third frame was a nicely charged open cell.

 

[Monbees]

That is so encouraging, I shall definitely let them carry on doing their own thing and hope for a successful outcome like you, Steve!

 

[Swarm]

A beekeeping friend came over and helped me locate the queen! So, she is now marked which gives me a bit of confidence to think again about the unite. Surprisingly the hive was not as weak as it was a week ago so am inclined to give it a second chance.

The swarm from this hive about 6 weeks ago is going great guns - neither hive is preparing to swarm again in the near future. These were the two hive I intended to unite.

I just re read. So the weak hive swarmed six weeks ago? That would indicate the queen you marked was a new queen that has recently begun laying?
Or am I getting it wrong (sorry, bit of a stressful day)