queenless hive

[mattP]

I have a hive that has gone queen less.  There isn't any brood in the lower hive body.  It is full of honey.  The upper hive body has barely been used...some comb building.  I have a two frame nuc that I was thinking of combining with this hive.  Any ideas?

[RayMarler]

I would switch the two bottom boxes with each other. I'd then pull out the two most empty frames out of the middle of the now top box and set them aside, and insert the two frame nuc in their place. This does the combine and positions everything as if it was a good hive. This will only work if you are sure there is no queen and no queen cells in the one hive.

[RayMarler]

I read that wrong, just take the two frame nuc and insert the frames into the center of the top box of your queenless hive the way it sits now, removing the two most empty frames in it's top box to do so. This will make the bees all happy, so long as the one larger hive truly is queenless and has no queen cells.

[Robo]

Are you sure they are queenless and not just honey bound?  Was the queen marked?  There is a good possibility that the queen has stopped laying.  If so, combining will just kill your nuc queen.   I'd give them a frame of eggs to see if they build queen cells. If they do, then knock them down and combine.  If they don't build queen cells then I wouldn't combine.