Adding bees to a hive

sean · October 30, 2006, 06:48:33 PM

i thought that bees from one hive couldn't be mixed/combined with another hive is this correct? i have been doing some reading and seen where i can be done

pdmattox · October 30, 2006, 07:10:24 PM

If starting with a new hive body you can take frames with bees from other hives and combine them into one box, you can also take two hives and combine them into one hive with the newspaper method, and you can also switch the location of one hive with the other to add bees to a weaker colony. Mixing of the bees any other way I think will not be good.

sean · October 30, 2006, 08:28:53 PM

but when you switch the position of the hive will the new bees coming just integrate into the new hive without problem? i thought they would have been seen as robbers and start an all out war

pdmattox · October 30, 2006, 08:32:54 PM

When the foragers come back with food they are accepted as a hive mate and allowed to enter.

Finsky · October 30, 2006, 10:59:38 PM

You live in Jamaica and you have summer all the time.

I use to put hives together. If colonies are same size, bees do not know if they must attach on or give up. If smaller colony is only 20 % compared with bigger, the bigger may kill the minority.

One safe method is to add bees is to give emerging brood frames from best hives.

I use to join hives when I carry them to outer pastures. Big hive collect honey better than small one.

Here is my one hive when I put two weak hives together. After one month it had the boath marked queens laying on same frame.
http://bees.freesuperhost.com/yabbfiles/Attachments/Kuva_049.jpg

Zoot · November 01, 2006, 01:04:59 AM

Finsky,

When you combined the 2 hives in the photo - did you intentionally leave both queens?

Finsky · November 01, 2006, 01:48:26 AM

Quote from: ZootFinsky,

When you combined the 2 hives in the photo - did you intentionally leave both queens?

I leaved on purpose. I just put hives together. Normally queens kill the other but somethimes it happens so. They boath were same spring queens from Italy.

Michael Bush · November 01, 2006, 07:28:20 AM

When combining hives, time and confusion are your friends. If you put a sheet of newspaper between the two it gives them time to get to know each other. If you mix three or more hives together there is more confusion. If you smoke them heavily there is more confusion. If you shake a few bees from several hives together there is more confusion from both the mixing and the shaking.

The weaker they are the less likely they will fight. The stronger they are the more likely they will fight.

Finsky · November 01, 2006, 08:13:36 AM

To join bees in summer and autumn is diffrent question. It is easy when bees get yield from pastures. If they do not get yield and robbers are all the time teasing, bees will be very defensive against foreign bees.