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I have combined many times just by pulling the division board and let the bees make the decision. Odds are often claimed to be 80% or more that the younger queen reigns. You can do more or less to influence the swarming possibilitys by how much you weaken the lower colony, such as giving them 5 or more undrawn combs etc. You could also possibly start another nuc or mate several queens from the top box. In your climate you may have to keep an eye out for the possibility that the top box gets ready to swarm if you do not pull some resources from it. The Snelgrove board has endless possibilities.Hello - I would like to use a Snellgrove board to prevent swarming but I would like to re-combine after swarm season. when will this be done, The queen cycle is 15 or 16 days until hatching but I don’t know if this is enough time to prevent a swarm and the other option seems to be let the queens fight it out.
please give me your thoughts
anthony