Question about Combining

[kemptville]

Hello All!

I have a queenless and a queenright hive and I want to combine the two using the newspaper method. How should I proceed with combining the two? Queenright on top of queenless or queenless on top of queenright? Does it matter?

Cheers

[millipede]

I always try to not disturb the queen right colony. So I place the queenless one on top.

[rober]

you'll also need a top entrance towards the rear on the upper hive.

[Finski]

.
In those cases I just put bees together. Perhaps it is better to put queen into a cage over night.

[kemptville]

Why would I need a top entrance at the rear of the hive?

[iddee]

If the weather is hot, they need ventilation and an exit. Doesn't matter front, rear or side. In cooler weather, it isn't needed, but doesn't hurt to have it anyway.

[dfizer]

You should put the weak hive on the bottom of the stack, then newspaper (cut a few slits in the newspaper to help the bees chew it away, the restack the strong hive, and restack the supers if necessary.  The population of the strong will have to travel through the weak hive, and assimilate the bees into their colony.  The weaker queenless hive will be overwhelmed by the stronger population.

David