combining 2 weak colongies into a single TBH

[AlpineJean]

I picked up a swarm from a house last night and it's quite small. I have another colony that's quite small (been re-queened 2 weeks ago) and I am thinking that if they are still not thriving so to speak that I might combine the new small swarm w/ the weak colony. I have read that in a Lang you put a layer of newspaper between hive bodies and the bees get used to each other. Is there a way to combine colonies in a TBH? It's rather late in the season, it seems to me, for 2 small groups to get it together enough to make it thru winter.

[Michael Bush]

Take a stapler and a sheet of newspaper and staple it in to make a newspaper divider.

[Scot Mc Pherson]

I think if your TBH is long enough, it will take the bees long enough to really meet significantly. Since they are both small the fighting should be minimal since weak colonies and clusters tend to not fight anyway.

Bees know what resources they have to expend, small colonies don't have resources that large colonies do. It is why new installations and small colonies seem much more docile, and large booming colonies need to be treated with more respect.

If you two clusters/colonies are really small, there is also a really small chance of fighting.

[AlpineJean]

Good. Then maybe I can get this to work. I have requeened 2 colonies, one w/ a push cage and the other just by hanging the original shipping cage. Lots of new adventures w/ these girls. The next entertaining bit will be to isolate an old AHB queen from a thriving hived swarm and try to requeen them... The beat goes on.
Thanks guys for your help.

[Michael Bush]

The problem with putting two small groups of bees at opposite ends is they will decide on one end and abandon the brood at the other end.

[AlpineJean]

Ah well, then I guess it will take some thinking. Spose I could just move the brood once the "dust settles". Any other notions? I don't really have 2 hives that I believe to be strong enough to transfer brood from to boost the weak ones which I figure would really be the best choice - especially, because we have a second good honey flow in August/September here before winter comes in middle October.

[Scot Mc Pherson]

Michael,
What brood? Its a 3 day old swarm.

Jean,
Go ahead and combine them, the most they can have is eggs and eggs are REAL cheap on the bees. Better to let the new combined cluster decide it can brood up more than to give them more brood than they can handle.

[AlpineJean]

I was thinking this morning also, that if push comes to shove, I could build a slap dash box to put above the one end of the top bar w/ one or two bars removed and the newspaper between and then simply collapse the 2 levels together in future. Lots of choices.

[Dick Allen]

Michael, generally I agree with most of what you write, but I have doubts about them abandoning the brood at this time of year as clustering for warmth isn't going to be all that critical anyway. A couple of weeks back, in my tbh I had a frame of brood that had completely broken off it's bar and was sitting vertically on the floor of the hive. The bees had already begun to make a new comb on the bar were bridging it to the broken brood comb. Anyway, I combined your advice and that of AlpineJean and made up a support frame using a top bar and some chicken wire to install the broken comb in. I placed it at the rear of the hive for a few days until the brood emerged and then took it out and melted it down. During the time it was in the frame, there were always bees on it.

[Michael Bush]

>I have doubts about them abandoning the brood at this time of year as clustering for warmth isn't going to be all that critical anyway.

And you're in Alaska. smile.gif

Could be it won't matter. I've just seen them do it. And many of the places I've lived it drops down to 55 at night even if it is hot in the day. But probably not in Alpine TX?

You're probably right.

[AlpineJean]

It gets up around 95 during the day and drops to 60-65 at night.