What to do now.

[thorn]

Last autumn, after an amalgamation, I had a spare queen who I couldn't find a home for. I put her in a mini nuc with a few helpers and left her to her own devices.
Not only has she survived, but she's laying. There's BIAS.
My other three hives are all queen right, and doing well, so I've no need to hold her in reserve, but as you'll appreciate, I've a lot of affection for such a fighter. I'd like to bring her on as the basis for a new colony. What's the best way of doing it.

 

[thebhoy]

I would let her continue to lay up where she is for a bit longer to build up a few more bees then, when enough to help cover another frame and with warmer weather, add a frame with emerging brood. Then as it develops add another and so on.
It will then be better placed to take off...so to speak

 

[TOBY-3652]

I would let her continue to lay up where she is for a bit longer to build up a few more bees then, when enough to help cover another frame and with warmer weather, add a frame with emerging brood. Then as it develops add another and so on.
It will then be better placed to take off...so to speak

 

[galileo]

As above really: a spare mated Queen is always handy to have around. It's a brood cycle in hand near as dammit, should you be unfortunate and lose a swarm. I've a feeling the swarm season this year is going to be a long one.

 

[itma]

Avoid her swarming out of the Apidea!

Make up a queenless nuc with a frame of sealed (emerging?) brood.
Wait a few days (like 6) and knock down the emergency QCs.
Give it half an hour, then introduce your Q into the nuc, caged for a while.


If the mini-nuc is an Apidea, you can add a couple of sawcuts to a national frame (details somewhere on here) so you can jam 3 Apidea frames into the hive frame.
If it ain't an Apidea, but you want the mini-nuc's brood, you may be able to bodge something with cable ties.
Any flying bees can be shaken out to beg their way in wherever, but cling-on baby bees can be introduced into the nuc with their brood frames (they don't fight and are readily accepted).
You have to get the mini-nuc frames out asap (if you bother to try and keep them).

The nuc might benefit from another frame of brood after the first lot emerges.


If you can hold back the mini-nuc from swarming, it'd likely be better to wait a couple of weeks more.
Then you'll have more bees to spare.
And maybe a QC to put back into the mini-nuc colony, so you don't have to faff about trying to merge them with the nuc.

 

[Hivemaker.]

What's the best way of doing it.

If your three hives are are doing well as you mention, then take three combs of bees and brood, one from each of your three hives, place together in a nuc box along with a frame of food, a drawn comb, or frame with foundation, take them a couple of miles away and introduce the queen straight away.
Shake the bees from the mini nuc in at the same time or keep them for mating more virgin queens from introduced cells.

If she is good they will produce honey or can just be used to produce more bees for nucs/brood factory/whatever, this year, and take the steam out of your other three hives a little.

 

[drstitson]

I'm with HM. easy new nuc - mix 3 frames of bees and brood. and introduce queen at same time.
as pete says - will help delay swarming a bit.

HM - a question - assuming decent amounts of pollen on the frames choses, if you were to shake off older (flying) bees would you be able to keep the nuc in the home apiary if no alternative available? obviously would need feeding syrup initially?