Switching hive positions when starting new colonies
Ok here is the thought. I am installing 2 packages this evening and would like to give them a boost. What if I were to place the new hives in the position of a couple of booming hives and let the field force supplement the new colonies? Any problems with with this plan? My concern would be if the foragers(old colony) would kill the queen or cause the new colony to abscond.
Thanks
"What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value." Thomas Paine
Re: Switching hive positions when starting new colonies
I don't think there'd be much risk of them killing the queens; but it might be worthwhile to trap them inside (by screening the entrance) for a day or two (feed if they don't have plentiful stores), just to make sure they don't try robbing if they re-find their old hives.
Re: Switching hive positions when starting new colonies
Well I reversed the position of 2 hives and installed the packages. I also did my first and last direct release of a queen, the decision was made as I watched the queen circle the hive, airborne. I think she landed back in the hive but am not sure.
"What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value." Thomas Paine
Re: Switching hive positions when starting new colonies
*swallows heart* yeah, that's always SCARY! ... might be worth putting a bit of 1/4" hardware cloth over the entrance for the first week? Use it as a kind of queen excluder to keep her in the hive until she starts fattening up from laying a bit?Originally Posted by RiodeLobo
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