The best way to unite two hives

[tom]

Hello

  Here is something that has been on my mine for awhile and thats how to unite two hives together. I have two hive that are doing well but one is not working like the other two you only see three to four bees coming and going at a time. They have a new queen and she  is laying good but they are not up to par with my other two i was thinking on joining the two together and make one hive until the spring. It would put less of a strain on me feeding them this fall but should i kill the old queen in my other hive then do the newspaper trick and let them eat thru it until they have the other hive scent with the young queen.


Tom

[Brian D. Bray]

another way is to lay screen door screen between the hives and leave them that way for a few days.  Put the bees of the hive in which the queen is killed on the bottom and the hive with the queen you keep on top.  After a couple of days the screen can be removed and it's all one happy hive.
Whether you use screen or newspaper the queenless hive should always be put on the bottom.

[tom]

Hello

  Mr. Bray you are the best you always come to my aid with the right answer. Now what do i do to get all of the bees from the queen right hive in the hive so i won't lose any of the workers. And the hive i want to kill the queen in if i put the screen on top will they try to make a new queen or will they smell the other queen and after a few days i can remove the the screen and then they should be one big happy family. And should i feed the ones on top until they are united.

Tom

[Brian D. Bray]

If the hives are close together there's probably not a problem, as chances are the bees to one hive will go to the other rather than die.  The other option is to put an empty box (even a cardboard box) to collect the errant bees and then add them to the others.  This is why you always put the queenless hive on bottom--you don't want to loose the queen.  I've often gone out at dusk, gathered up the glob of bees remaining (if any) and then set them down on the entrance to the now combined hive.  
It might be a good idea to use the same tactic you would use in reorientating the bees after a short move--put a board or branch so that it leans against the hive infront of the entrance.

[tom]

Hello

  Mr. Bray when i unite the two hives and i have killed the old queen and then i put the queen right hive on top will the bottom hive smell the queen in the top hive or will they try to raise a queen from the brood. I am going to place the screen on top after i kill the old queen then put the new queen and her hive on top and leave them for a few days but i am also going to feed them until i remove the screen.Or should i spray them all with my spray that i did for letting the queen lose and make they hive smell like vanilla then both hives will have the same scent.

Tom

[Brian D. Bray]

You can reduce the combining time using the screen and then spraying them with syrup w/vanilla to mask phenomones.  That way the lower hive will not start building supercedure cells although chances are just as good that that will not happen as the existance of the queen in the upper boxes will preclude this.  The screen still allows for bee to bee contact and the transfer of phenomones but prohibits warfare.  The hives should be combined within 48 hours using the screen verses a longer period using paper; also, there's no danger of suffocation of the bees in the upper boxes that can occur using paper without adequate ventilation.

[qa33010]

What is the vanilla ratio to syrup?  I do the homemade HBH would this work as well?  Do you use vanilla extract or is it an essential oil?

David

[ConfedMarine]

tom, you can also remove a brood frame or two (frames with a good amount of brood) from your stronger hive and switch them with your weaker hive. This will boost the population in the weaker without having to kill a good queen. I did this procedure this spring with a package hive and a swarm hive and extracted one medium super from each in July, leaving them a ten frame medium for winter.

[Finsky]

Best method depends what time of year you have.  Towards autumn queens are in danger. In spring and in yield period I just put them together.

[tom]

Hello


 I did my inspection today and my third hive still has not drawn out the other two frames so i went to my big hive and took a solid frame of capped brood from them and gave it to hive 3 . Well i made sure that my new queen was doing her jobe and she was and i move all of the frames that she had not laid in together and put the stolen one in the middle i do not see any honey they have stored and i have not seen any pollen in the cells like in my other hive so i guess they are telling me it's time to feed them and i will start that tomarrow.


Tom

[Brian D. Bray]

The lack of stores and pollen is the reason this hive has not progressed.  If your other hives are gathering both I don't understand why this one is so different.  I'll have to do some thinking--ouch, that hurts.  :)

The pollen from the frame of brood you put in might stimulate some more brood production.  While feeding you might consider some pollen substitue as well.

You made the right moves.

[tom]

Hello

 Mr. Bray i am glad that you said i made the right move the mornings are cooling down now and i see the trees changing coloars so i know fall is coming. This has been a problem since i got it and they have a new queen and she is performing like a champ and the workers are bringing in pollen but it seems the brrob they have are eating it up as fast as they bring it in and they do not send out workers like my other two. You may see two or three bees coming and going and alot of there brood has come out and the frame i took from my big hive that frame is nothing but capped brood and room for any pollen thats how good that queen it but my big hive does have several frames of pollen stored and my second hive does to i am going to work with hive three and who knows they may be the ones to make it thru the winter.

Tom