Too many bees / build up, not out?

[buhbee]

Here's the situation: I planned to have three hives in my back yard this spring so I got my equipment, ordered two pkgs and a nuc and waited. In early April I lucked up on a swarm from unknown origins and installed it (in hive #1, tbh). Two weeks later the two pkgs arrived so I installed one (in hive #2, Lang.) and sold the other. While waiting on the nuc to arrive (delayed due to bad weather in GA), hive #1 swarmed again but I caught and installed it (in hive #3, Lang.).

I now have the three colonies I desire at my back door but still have a nuc due to arrive any day. The pkg bees installed in hive #2 are thriving and a second 8-frame medium was added on 2 May. No word yet on how hive #3 is doing, but I hope to peek in on them this weekend.

Given all this, what is wrong with incorporating frames from the 5-frame nuc when it arrives into one or both existing Langstroth hives? The nuc is supposed to contain three frames of brood and a frame or so of honey/pollen. Would you put all five frames in one hive, or split them among the two existing Langs?

In addition, I'm assuming the queen in hive #3 is the same queen which arrived with the original swarm back in early April (then installed in hive #1). If so, she might be an older queen. Would replacing her with the newly mated queen that arrives with the nuc be wise?

Am I making too many assumptions and risking too much with this idea?

Any and all suggestions welcome.

Greg

[Joseph Clemens]

Take a look at the queen you suspect is O.T.H. (over the hill), she will show signs of age, if she is older. Young queens look like young queens, and old queens look like old queens.

The "soon to arrive" nuc queen may not be a better queen than the queen you have. It's a gamble, but you do get the practice/experience of queen replacement. You could also keep the nuc a nuc (an emergency replacement queen), and an emergency backup colony if any should stumble.

[SteveBee]

Here's the situation: I planned to have three hives in my back yard this spring so I got my equipment, ordered two pkgs and a nuc and waited. In early April I lucked up on a swarm from unknown origins and installed it (in hive #1, tbh). Two weeks later the two pkgs arrived so I installed one (in hive #2, Lang.) and sold the other. While waiting on the nuc to arrive (delayed due to bad weather in GA), hive #1 swarmed again but I caught and installed it (in hive #3, Lang.).

I now have the three colonies I desire at my back door but still have a nuc due to arrive any day. The pkg bees installed in hive #2 are thriving and a second 8-frame medium was added on 2 May. No word yet on how hive #3 is doing, but I hope to peek in on them this weekend.

Given all this, what is wrong with incorporating frames from the 5-frame nuc when it arrives into one or both existing Langstroth hives? The nuc is supposed to contain three frames of brood and a frame or so of honey/pollen. Would you put all five frames in one hive, or split them among the two existing Langs?

In addition, I'm assuming the queen in hive #3 is the same queen which arrived with the original swarm back in early April (then installed in hive #1). If so, she might be an older queen. Would replacing her with the newly mated queen that arrives with the nuc be wise?

Am I making too many assumptions and risking too much with this idea?

Any and all suggestions welcome.

Greg

That's not a bad idea. Just let them sit for a week or two (or more) and see if one hive needs them all. And the queen's fine while we wait. We know the queen in the TBH is laying a nice pattern, for now.

[Delta Bay]

hive #1 swarmed again but I caught and installed it (in hive #3, Lang.).

What is happening in hive #1 TBH?

[buhbee]

Take a look at the queen you suspect is O.T.H. (over the hill), she will show signs of age, if she is older.

You could also keep the nuc a nuc (an emergency replacement queen), and an emergency backup colony if any should stumble.

Joseph,

Thanks for the sound advice. I'm not sure why it never occurred to me to look at the queen in hive #3 to see if she shows sign of aging, but I will do just that. And I (we, SteveBee and I are in this together) will probably leave the nuc a nuc for the time being as well. Steve suggested this when he was here Monday, but I'm getting ahead of myself as I often do. Thanks again.

Greg

[buhbee]

What is happening in hive #1 TBH?

We got in hive #1 Monday after it swarmed. We saw full combs filled with capped brood, including considerable patches of capped drone brood, surrounded by capped honey/sugar syrup out to the follower board (then positioned at slot #17). Also, we saw three capped queen cells on or about bars 9 or 10 (we didn't go in any further than bar 8). As mentioned before, I fed this hive 1:1 SS until the day it swarmed, but removed the feeder during the inspection that day and have not replaced it. I suspect the hive swarmed because I "over fed" them. We had extended periods of rain for many days since the swarm was installed in early April and they put away the SS/built a lot of comb. My guess is she ran out of room to lay.

Today there is good traffic in and out of the entrance and they are bringing in pollen.

Greg