Start package on its own in Mid-May or combine to boost honey production?

[marcos]

I just got a package of bees today and am wondering what to do with it as it arrived 5 weeks after my earliest packages(different supplier who was delayed). Should I do a newspaper combine with another more established hive in order to boost honey production? I have 3 other hives all new from packages earlier in the Spring.

I installed these packages on drawn comb from deadouts. However, I do not have any drawn medium supers and I am getting worried I will miss getting honey as the bees need to draw the supers out before filling them. In regards to the flow here, honey locust is in full bloom and I am seeing a little bit of clover.

[.30WCF]

You could combine them for a couple weeks then split the hive in half and give them each half the comb if you were wanting 4 hives to go into fall / winter.


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[marcos]

You could combine them for a couple weeks then split the hive in half and give them each half the comb if you were wanting 4 hives to go into fall / winter.


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My main concern is getting honey, not necessarily expanding my apiary, in case that makes a difference.

[.30WCF]

You could combine them for a couple weeks then split the hive in half and give them each half the comb if you were wanting 4 hives to go into fall / winter.


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My main concern is getting honey, not necessarily expanding my apiary, in case that makes a difference.

How full are the hives you have? If you overcrowd them, you could lose half that hive to a swarm. You could split the package 3ways and add a few to each hive.
If they are doing good, I would probably just grab a frame of drawn out of one of the hives and put it in a nuc with 4 frames of foundation ( or a single drawn frame from each hive ) and let the 3 original hives do their thing. Next year you can capitalize on this hive. It will boom in the spring.


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[marcos]

2 of the 3 hives have one deep pretty full of bees. Those 2 hives are running on 8 frames. Like 6 of 8 frames w/ bees. I added a second deep, but they haven't begun to draw comb on that second box. I did shift things around with the frames and do some checkerboarding and move some frames up to the second box in an effort to coax them to move up.

At this point, is it unrealistic to think they will fill up a second deep then also draw out a medium super, then fill the super?

You could combine them for a couple weeks then split the hive in half and give them each half the comb if you were wanting 4 hives to go into fall / winter.


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My main concern is getting honey, not necessarily expanding my apiary, in case that makes a difference.

How full are the hives you have? If you overcrowd them, you could lose half that hive to a swarm. You could split the package 3ways and add a few to each hive.
If they are doing good, I would probably just grab a frame of drawn out of one of the hives and put it in a nuc with 4 frames of foundation ( or a single drawn frame from each hive ) and let the 3 original hives do their thing. Next year you can capitalize on this hive. It will boom in the spring.


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[TheHoneyPump]

What I would do.
If the package has a queen, put her in a nuc with 1 frame of bees with a bit of brood all stages that is taken from one of the established hives.  Introduce the caged queen to the nuc, place it somewhere and forget about her for awhile. Go harvest brood from the nuc from time to time to boost the production hives.
Take all the package bees over to the smallest of the established hives.  Put on a newspaper and a new box on the paper.  Dump the package in and fill the box with new frames to be drawn.  Put the cover on and leave that hive alone for one week.
From then on just carry on with normal beekeeping activities and have a great summer.

[.30WCF]

What I would do.
If the package has a queen, put her in a nuc with 1 frame of bees with a bit of brood all stages that is taken from one of the established hives.  Introduce the caged queen to the nuc, place it somewhere and forget about her for awhile. Go harvest brood from the nuc from time to time to boost the production hives.
Take all the package bees over to the smallest of the established hives.  Put on a newspaper and a new box on the paper.  Dump the package in and fill the box with new frames to be drawn.  Put the cover on and leave that hive alone for one week.
From then on just carry on with normal beekeeping activities and have a great summer.

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[marcos]

I should have mentioned that my weakest hive currently has a caged queen(w/ Candy Plug) who I installed on Friday evening. That hive was queenless for a while after they killed a queen that I put too much marking paint on the queen They did make some emergency cells which I cut out b/c I knew I was going to requeen anyway.

Is there a risk in adding bees from a different package to a hive that is still working on queen acceptance?

What I would do.
If the package has a queen, put her in a nuc with 1 frame of bees with a bit of brood all stages that is taken from one of the established hives.  Introduce the caged queen to the nuc, place it somewhere and forget about her for awhile. Go harvest brood from the nuc from time to time to boost the production hives.
Take all the package bees over to the smallest of the established hives.  Put on a newspaper and a new box on the paper.  Dump the package in and fill the box with new frames to be drawn.  Put the cover on and leave that hive alone for one week.
From then on just carry on with normal beekeeping activities and have a great summer.

[TheHoneyPump]

Despite the series of unfortunate events, the situation that now presents is an opportunity.
I would say, intro the queen into the bottom box of that QL hive. Caged with a full charge of candy. Do not use marshmallow for this one, its release is too fast. Use proper candy. And, then, go ahead with the newspaper combine method of the new package into a box on top as described above. Put a couple slits an inch long in the paper right above where the queen cage is to get them started and so they start their come down right where she is. Walk away for 7 - 10 days then go back and see what you got.  You should find shredded paper tossed out the front door and there may be a few dead bees from some initial fighting. But what you will end up with is a nicely populated hive with a new queen bombing away with lots of bees helping her.

Hope that helps.

[marcos]

Sorry, no hives are queenless currently. I installed a mated queen who I purchased separately on Friday so the colony is in the process of accepting her.  Does that change things?

Despite the series of unfortunate events, the situation that now presents is an opportunity.
I would say, intro the queen into the bottom box of that QL hive. Caged with a full charge of candy. Do not use marshmallow for this one, its release is too fast. Use proper candy. And, then, go ahead with the newspaper combine method of the new package into a box on top as described above. Put a couple slits an inch long in the paper right above where the queen cage is to get them started and so they start their come down right where she is. Walk away for 7 - 10 days then go back and see what you got.  You should find shredded paper tossed out the front door and there may be a few dead bees from some initial fighting. But what you will end up with is a nicely populated hive with a new queen bombing away with lots of bees helping her.

Hope that helps.

[TheHoneyPump]

Then back to plan A, package in a box above newspaper. Make the slits along the outer edges though.  No, it makes no difference with the queen intro that is already underway. The purpose of the newspaper is to slow everybody down. What helps the combine go even more smoothly is to sugar water spray mist the tops of the frames of the box below and spray mist the newspaper before putting the new box on top.

[Beeboy01]

Go with HoneyPump's #5 post. He's hit the nail right on the head with it.   

[marcos]

Ok thanks. What is the thinking w/ giving them brood?

Go with HoneyPump's #5 post. He's hit the nail right on the head with it.

[.30WCF]

What if we pull the caged queen you introduced and a frame or two of bees that she is touching and put them in the nuc and let them accept her incase of a mishap, and do a newspaper combine with the package and their queen on top of the weak hive?


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[TheHoneyPump]

Ok thanks. What is the thinking w/ giving them brood?

Go with HoneyPump's #5 post. He's hit the nail right on the head with it.

Hope it went well and you are all sorted by now.
On your question: Purpose of putting a frame of brood into the nuc with the queen is that brood holds bees, sticks them, to the box they have been put in.  If no brood most of the bees likely will go back to their old hive. The nuc may become essentially empty with a queen and 50 bees left. Also, and more importantly, the frame of brood gives the nuc a good startup allowing the mini colony to continue on with bees of all ages and stages without the age gap and dwindling period that would happen otherwise.

[2Sox]

HoneyPump,
I was a teacher for 30 years and I have to say, if you were not a teacher yourself, you would have made a very fine one. On every one of your answers I have read, you follow the cardinal rule of all educators: Assume nothing.

Not only do you provide complete answers to our questions, but you explain the WHY for those answers. It?s very clear you want to have good will.  It?s a pleasure to read what you write. I continue to learn from you. Thank you.

[The15thMember]

HoneyPump,
I was a teacher for 30 years and I have to say, if you were not a teacher yourself, you would have made a very fine one. On every one of your answers I have read, you follow the cardinal rule of all educators: Assume nothing.

Not only do you provide complete answers to our questions, but you explain the WHY for those answers. It?s very clear you want to have good will.  It?s a pleasure to read what you write. I continue to learn from you. Thank you.

AGREED! 

[TheHoneyPump]