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So yesterday I was able to find and mark my queen in my one booming hive.
While the paint was drying on her I rearranged frames and split my hive (walk-away). I pulled 2 deep frames loaded with capped worker and some capped drone brood, with bees, one deep frame loaded with mostly pollen with bees and one deep frame which was a mixture of pollen and nectar with bees. I also placed a medium frame where I had found the queen into the new split and filled out the box with 2 foundationless frames and one plastic frame. This medium has numerous eggs which the queen had laid. I should have left that frame in the old hive and put the queen in the new split.
Unfortunately for some reason I cannot comprehend now I put the queen BACK into the old hive rather than putting her in the new split.
The old hive has 2 deep boxes plus the medium on top.
The "split" is one deep.
I suppose many of the girls will be making their way back to the hive with the queen. So now I am wondering what to do, if anything. It is raining off and on today, and a strong front is coming in this afternoon, with temps dropping to 25 to 30 F tonight, so I am thinking of not doing anything until warm weather returns on Thursday.
I am thinking of finding the queen, and pulling whichever box she is in, and doing a newspaper combine of that box with the "split". I would think that would stabilize things a bit and cut way down on bees returning to the old hive.
I would appreciate any opinions as to what would be the best course of action.
While the paint was drying on her I rearranged frames and split my hive (walk-away). I pulled 2 deep frames loaded with capped worker and some capped drone brood, with bees, one deep frame loaded with mostly pollen with bees and one deep frame which was a mixture of pollen and nectar with bees. I also placed a medium frame where I had found the queen into the new split and filled out the box with 2 foundationless frames and one plastic frame. This medium has numerous eggs which the queen had laid. I should have left that frame in the old hive and put the queen in the new split.
Unfortunately for some reason I cannot comprehend now I put the queen BACK into the old hive rather than putting her in the new split.
The old hive has 2 deep boxes plus the medium on top.
The "split" is one deep.
I suppose many of the girls will be making their way back to the hive with the queen. So now I am wondering what to do, if anything. It is raining off and on today, and a strong front is coming in this afternoon, with temps dropping to 25 to 30 F tonight, so I am thinking of not doing anything until warm weather returns on Thursday.
I am thinking of finding the queen, and pulling whichever box she is in, and doing a newspaper combine of that box with the "split". I would think that would stabilize things a bit and cut way down on bees returning to the old hive.
I would appreciate any opinions as to what would be the best course of action.