If I place a queen excluder over one hive and place 1 brood, 1 honey super (weak hive) over the top of the first hive would this work or help to over winter the weak hive or would the scent from the two queens confuse all the bees?
The purpose of merging 2 weak hives into one is to have a large population going into winter.
The cluster during cold weather will be bigger thus more heat is generated.
I believe if you use a queen excluder to start, the bees will be strangers to each hive and fight.
By merging 2 hives by the newspaper method the bees have a chance for there scents to mingle.
What I'd do is merge the 2 hives by the newspaper method and get them thru the winter.
The following spring I would split the hives.
If it has a large population you can split the hive in the spring 4 ways.
I would rather have 1 live hive in the spring than 2 dead weak hives.
Quote from: gdog on September 04, 2013, 11:08:52 PM
If I place a queen excluder over one hive and place 1 brood, 1 honey super (weak hive) over the top of the first hive would this work or help to over winter the weak hive or would the scent from the two queens confuse all the bees?
Why a queen excluder? If you want to keep them as two separate hives...Why not separate them with a double screen board? Seems like this would keep all the bees in their appropriate hive while allowing the weaker hive on top to benefit from the heat rising up from the stronger hive below, this giving them a better chance to survive winter.
That's what I was getting at keep the weak hive warm from the string below
Quote from: gdog on September 05, 2013, 12:48:36 AM
That's what I was getting at keep the weak hive warm from the string below
I've never done it...But I've heard of it being done. :)
See no reason it wouldn't work...Or, at least give them a better chance than trying to make it thru winter without a downstairs neighbor. :-D
Yep, it can ("might") work using a "double screen board" but not a queen excluder, for reasons already mentioned.
The bees will pick a queen, cluster around her and leave the other to die. Then they will move up over winter and leave the other queen behind on the other side of the excluder and she will die. At least that's what happens in Nebraska...