What is best way to combine weak Q+ nuc to Q- hive

[thebhoy]

As per title, what is best way to combine a small Q+ nuc to a queenless colony? I have a nice new queen, good brood pattern etc in a small nuc and would like to combine it with a Q- colony that I have just done an AS on a week ago.

My original plan was to unite the AS but thought a fresh young queen would be better for another quick build up.

 

[enrico]

Just add the queen in a cage. Let the nuc make another one! Just one possibility!
E

 

[oliver90owner]

Hopelessly Q-?

What is wrong with a simple newspaper unite?

Or is it one of those nucs which are not a lot of good for much other than drowning bees or building queen cells in the feeder?

What is a small nuc? A nuc to me is a viable colony. Just get on with it!

 

[enrico]

I think the size of the nuc box with the size of a brood box I s possibly the problem!

E

 

[richardbees]

If you are 100% sure the bb colony is Q- I agree that you should do the newspaper method.
Put all the frames from the Nuc in the front of a broodbox (or super with eke) then a dummy board on a sheet of newspaper on top of the frames in the original bb .....then fill the space behind with loose sacking or crumpled newspaper

 

[thebhoy]

Rab, it was an over wintered nuc that I put into full hive but then swarmed leaving not a lot of bees, has 3 and a half 14 x 12 frames of bias (not wall to wall) and I downsized it back into a 6 frame nuc to help it build up (a week ago), due to low bee count.
First brood cycle from newly mated queen emerging now.

Q- hive I wanted to requeen ASAP rather than wait on new queen to emerge, get mated and start laying....not totally hopelessly Q- as will have a few more QC's that I planned to knock down tomorrow.

 

[thebhoy]

Enrico / Richard.....

Cheers for the ideas, Q- hive the brood was on super frames (2 supers worth) and is sitting on 14 x 12 bb with drawn and undrawn frames.

Could possibly lift all of the floor, put on another bb, insert frames from nuc, back fill with more frames, put on newspaper replace supers and shake remaining bees from bb frames back into top of hives.

Perhaps a light spray of sugar water to keep them occupied.

 

[thebhoy]

Well just went ahead with a newspaper unite after checking and removing QCs from Q- colony. Put frames from nuc into BB with dummy board and placed on newspaper over the supers.
Hopefully it will work but will know at the weekend, first time uniting colonies.... Would be a shame to lose a nice queen if I have screwed it up but, if all goes well I think it will storm ahead given the amount she has layed up with so few bees to cover them.

 

[enrico]

Just check for chewed newspaper at the front entrance in the morning. If there is none within 24 hours, lift the top bb slightly send spray a little water in. Not usually needed but it will help them chew through, specially in hot weather. Well done.
E

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Would be a shame to lose a nice queen if I have screwed it up

I strongly doubt it: there's a school of thought on here that says that newspaper is unnecessary. And Hivemaker I believe just unites and runs in Qs at will. But then Yoda he is. Similar strains helps of course.

 

[richardbees]

Ooops!

nobody has mentioned that you should make a few small cuts in the newspaper to allow the initial flow of pheremones.......you can do it tomorrow with a kitchen knife.

 

[thebhoy]

Thanks again folks, Richard I made the slits at the time but was worried I had made too many and the small number of bees in the nuc would be overrun before the scents mingled
Will know soon enough.

 

[thebhoy]

Just checked today and paper all gone and no sign of the queen or new eggs but one draw out QC with grub in will give it a couple of days and check again on Monday or Tuesday and if nothing then will add a new mated queen from a mating hive that has been laying for four weeks.

Another lesson learned in becoming an experienced beekeeper

 

[Erichalfbee]

*******

 

[Hawklord]

I usually put a queen excluder above the newspaper as it keeps the paper in place if it's windy and also makes the queen easier to find after the job has been done.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I edited out my reply as the thread is over a year old ....oooops