Wait before re-uniting

[Grif]

Wondering how long to wait before re-uniting captured cast swarms. I am presuming it may be best to wait until the different casts have had time to settle and the queen start to lay eggs, but can it be done before this?

 

[sean-a]

I was told to just add them the same day to a Q- colony. My hive had no eggs or brood and no queencells either.

Told to open the hive for 10 minutes and expose the bees to the light, then dump the swarm in.

I did that on Sunday, and have not managed to get into the hive since, so no idea whether it has worked.

 

[einsteinagogo]

Wondering how long to wait before re-uniting captured cast swarms. I am presuming it may be best to wait until the different casts have had time to settle and the queen start to lay eggs, but can it be done before this?

When I was catching swarms last year, that issued on the same day, I put all the swarms together in the same hive.

The maximum swarms I did this with was 3 swarms, in the same national, and I used a super underneath the brood box, to accommodate all the bees.

It worked fine, and they went through the winter fine, foraged fine last year, and brought me in a lot of honey, and are very strong this year.

 

[Finman]

.
Long time ago when I started beekeeping, I bought swarms and I put 2 or 3 swarms together, that I got two Langstroth boxes full of bees. IT went well.

Of course it us better if you have a laying Queen in the hive. That is why you should pick off the virgin.

 

[wessexmario]

When I was catching swarms last year, that issued on the same day, I put all the swarms together in the same hive.

The maximum swarms I did this with was 3 swarms, in the same national, and I used a super underneath the brood box, to accommodate all the bees.

Have done just that last week, 3 swarms into one hive. Two of them were so small as to probably not be viable as colonies for next winter (just 2 and 3 seams of bees)
The combined colony is foraging strongly in the sunshine today.

 

[jonnybeegood]

What if both queens were virgins in the hive & swarm, do you keep the first to lay or how would you decide which to keep?

 

[snelgrove]

What if both queens were virgins in the hive & swarm, do you keep the first to lay or how would you decide which to keep?

when swarms are dumped unceremoniously together the bee's decide which queen to keep or they fight it out if the hive has no brood when the swarms are hived swarming won't result, only absconding.

 

[CarolW]

swarm-housing

I've run two swarms into the same hive last week and yesterday, I couldn't be sure if the first lot had come from this hive and on both occasions I didn't see the swarm queen though she must have been there somewhere. Result so far: no dead bees or other dramas that I can see, just more nice bees. And no, I don't think it was the same set of bees each time!