Very Weak Beside Strong Coloony.

[Millet]

I have been stressed to death with my little dwindling small colony and i could kick myself why i did not do what i have done tonight..
The strong one is bursting well not so bursting but jam packed..so i have switched them over..both hives are the same so lets prey for a nice day tomorrow and some of the chocker bees fill a bit of space in the half empty hive..
Bad move or not Gurus ...i know what can go wrong and what can go right..any thoughts or should i run out and put them back as there where and let nature take its course..

 

[Ian123]

To be honest without an inspection I would let nature take its course you’ve no idea why the colony is small if they are q-less or nosema then the bees are wasted and you’ve reduced the better hive. Winter is a tough time but that’s why we should have a few extra. Fingers crossed it’s probably the only thing you could have done.

 

[pargyle]

To be honest without an inspection I would let nature take its course you’ve no idea why the colony is small if they are q-less or nosema then the bees are wasted and you’ve reduced the better hive. Winter is a tough time but that’s why we should have a few extra. Fingers crossed it’s probably the only thing you could have done.

Yes, I'd have left them be, you've potentially weakened a strong colony to bolster a weak colony - not a good idea at this time of year. Some colonies are destined for winter failure no matter what you do ... Darwin rules. The small colony would either make it or die out .. nature's way.

 

[Millet]

To be honest without an inspection I would let nature take its course you’ve no idea why the colony is small if they are q-less or nosema then the bees are wasted and you’ve reduced the better hive. Winter is a tough time but that’s why we should have a few extra. Fingers crossed it’s probably the only thing you could have done.

No Nosema and very little Varroa..both treated for accordingly during Autumn.

 

[Ian123]

No Nosema and very little Varroa..both treated for accordingly during Autumn.

Sure they are all treated but thymol as an autumn feed is a preventative not a cure imo it greatly reduces nosema but you do still get the odd case and I’ve been using it long before this forum started. Same for varroa there’s always the odd surprise and a colony slow to build in the is always worth double checking. Nothing you’ve done is the end of the world and we do what we can to reduce losses but nature takes its course, small colonies are often not worth the effort and have other issues.

 

[Millet]

Fair Points but many covered..me thinks i best wait and see.

 

[madasafish]

SOunds like roulette beekeeping to me

 

[Mint Bee]

Not sure of the point to the OP, if the recommendations are ignored?

 

[drex]

In a month or so I will routinely exchange the locations of strong and weak hives to try to balance up the apiary. However this is after an inspection to determine if there is any reason behind the weakness, and if there is that colony is treated appropriately.
Still, later on in the season some colonies will pull way ahead of others. That's bees!

 

[roche]

My inclination with small/weak colonies is always to reduce space. But it's not a good time to be shifting house so to speak. I'm more with pargyle on this...probably have left alone, unless there was a 14C temperature day, to do a quick shift to a nuc.

 

[Millet]

My inclination with small/weak colonies is always to reduce space. But it's not a good time to be shifting house so to speak. I'm more with pargyle on this...probably have left alone, unless there was a 14C temperature day, to do a quick shift to a nuc.

The hive in question is dummied down to 7 frames with celotex dummy boards..

 

[Millet]

I checked on them not long ago and from what I seen I swapped them back over to there original position..the cluster looks a bit smaller than a tennis ball with dead chilled bees all over clinging to the inside of the eke and on the top bars..the forecast is not good for the next few days which i think may finish them of..this way I suppose I will be left with one strong colony instead of nothing in my garden aipery...

 

[Beefriendly]

You could block the entrance off and bring them indoors somewhere warm(ish) for a few weeks. They won't take any harm if they have plenty of stores available. Take them back out when we get some decent weather forecast.

 

[Millet]

You could block the entrance off and bring them indoors somewhere warm(ish) for a few weeks. They won't take any harm if they have plenty of stores available. Take them back out when we get some decent weather forecast.

Now that N is a cracking idea and what i will do when i Finnish on this here keyboard..they have enough stores to last a good colony another month or two so in the garage the hive will go..

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

Indoor beekeeping - I think my other half might just object to that......

 

[Millet]

Not sure of the point to the OP, if the recommendations are ignored?

You stir up emoticons in my groin..i love you for that ..the back end bit though..

 

[Millet]

Quick up date.. Bees flying and collecting pollen from the strong hive today but not the weak one that is now outdoors..i decided to take the fondant of to look underneath..very few bees a cup full if that so i pulled the frames out and not a Queen in sight..the open mesh floor was half inch deep with dead bees and these where only alive because i had a tube heater underneath them..no sign of disease just dead chilled bees over the rest of the frames full of stores..right or wrong i decided to give the remaining bees a chance..i opened the feed hole a little on the strong colony and shook the remaining bees onto the crown board and closed them up..bit sick about it really as this was a good 2019 Queen..

 

[Beefriendly]

Shame,.
Look on positive side, you tried to do something about them.
Whatever the outcome it added more experience.

 

[pargyle]

..no sign of disease just dead chilled bees over the rest of the frames full of stores..right or wrong i decided to give the remaining bees a chance..i opened the feed hole a little on the strong colony and shook the remaining bees onto the crown board and closed them up..bit sick about it really as this was a good 2019 Queen..

Regardless of there being no sign of disease for the few bees you are 'saving' I would not have risked adding these to a strong colony .. the strong colony does not need them .. there's every chance they won't accept them and you really don't know why that weak colony was a weak colony. Could be Nosema Ceranae in which case you probably would not see any signs in the hive - did you do any microscopy to check before you combined them ?

Sometimes it's better to just let nature take its course .. I'd have left them to die out where they were.

 

[Millet]

Shame,.
Look on positive side, you tried to do something about them.
Whatever the outcome it added more experience.

Most definitely and maybe another lesson learned..Nuc to brood box too soon on some occasions..this is the second time i have had one of these nuc's fail with these Queens and i don't think it will happen again..on my behalf anyways..