Combining hives during supercedure

DaveKow · August 01, 2008, 06:58:02 PM

I have 2 weak hives, both in the middle of supercedure. This is the second one for both. One just capped queen cell, the other should have a queen about to be mated. How do you handle a combine at this point? I see sparse amounts of golden rod blooming and I am not going to get much going with the weak numbers of bees I see coming and going. So I was hoping to combine ASAP. I have almost talked myself into throwing them together and wishing them the best.

They both have a couple frames of brood left. One has about 16 out of 20 frames drawn out. The other has about eight.

If I do combine, do I just let them sort their frame situation out and leave it a 3 deep?

I should mention, that I have one more hive. It is booming. So much that I was afraid to go in the lower deep. All I need is to lose that queen.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Dave

Robo · August 01, 2008, 08:21:22 PM

I take it you let them raise their own queen the first time they superseded? What makes you believe they will be any more happy with a 2nd generation from a bad queen than they where with the 1st generation. Unless your will to just write them off, I would combine them and introduce a quality queen.

DaveKow · August 01, 2008, 10:50:35 PM

Quote from: Robo on August 01, 2008, 08:21:22 PMI would combine them and introduce a quality queen.

I would love to do this. Could you give me the step by step? Thanks.

Robo · August 01, 2008, 11:06:02 PM

It's too late to raise your own, but you could start planning for next year.
http://robo.bushkillfarms.com/beekeeping/queen-rearing/

Since you have one that has a virgin/newly mated queen it could be a little tricky. If you can find her, then just remove her and introduce the new queen in a cage.
If you can't find her, I would stack the hives with a double screen board with the one with the virgin queen on the bottom and the one with the cells on top. Destroy the cells on top and introduce your good queen to the top in a cage. I would then see what happens with the virgin queen. If she starts laying, I would let her continue until you are happy with the top hive and queen. This way you will get the benefit of both queen laying for a period of time. Once you are ready to combine, dispose of the queen in the bottom and remove the double screen board.

Here is the double screen board method -> http://robo.bushkillfarms.com/beekeeping/queen-introduction/

good luck

DaveKow · August 13, 2008, 12:56:31 AM

I ended up destroying the cells and combined with newspaper. Hoped for the best. Now I have 3 deeps. I have a laying queen but she doesn't seem to know that there are empty comb beneath her. I saw her a week ago on about the same frame that I found her on today. Do I just give her time? Or should I put the emptiest box on top?

Thanks.

Brian D. Bray · August 14, 2008, 01:36:09 AM

Quote from: DaveKow on August 13, 2008, 12:56:31 AM
I ended up destroying the cells and combined with newspaper. Hoped for the best. Now I have 3 deeps. I have a laying queen but she doesn't seem to know that there are empty comb beneath her. I saw her a week ago on about the same frame that I found her on today. Do I just give her time? Or should I put the emptiest box on top?

Thanks.

Find the frame she's on and trade it out for one in that part of the hive that has some empty combs, she should then get to work unless you are experience a dearth, drought, or she's knocked off for a while to let the population shrink prior to winter.

Also, just food for thought, I think one of the things beekeepers are beginning to see is some intentional interruptions is brood production as a self control of varroa.

DaveKow · August 14, 2008, 03:21:33 AM

I failed to mention that this is a newly laying queen, maybe 6 days of laying. This hive was queenless for at least a month. I have been feeding to stimulate her laying.

I will swap the frame she is on. I don't know if we are in a dearth, but definitely not a drought. The goldenrod is starting to bloom. So, I am thinking of feeding one more can then stopping 'til goldenrod is done. Then checking things from there.

Thanks for the suggestion.