[Tubobutter]

Had a hive swarm and take the queen. After waiting three weeks with no sign of a newly raised queen I ordered another as I was afraid of ending up with a laying worker. (Had problem with this recently so am probably more worried than should be). Went to install new queen and I found lots of eggs!! They must have raised one after all and she just started laying.

So now I have a new queen arrived today. If I put a couple of frames with bees and honey in a super will they accept this queen?

Or any better ideas? Very new only my second year. Thanks in advance.

K

 

[bevy's honeybees]

You mean a super separate from original hive? I have started hives with "supers" if you mean a medium box. How big is the original hive now, how many boxes?

One way I've done it is take a medium off a deep, make sure queen not in it. Keep it queenless for about an hour, then put in California caged queen with cork out, let bees release in their time. Do something with the entrance to confuse bees as there's likely foragers going with the move.

 

[KPeacock]

you can make a small split with a frame of honey/necter, a frame of brood/bees, and a frame with pollen/brood and toss them into a 5-frame nuc with two empty frames. lert them sit there queenless for an hour or two and then give them the caged queen with sugar plug. the bees will release the queen and go on happily as a new hive. if you're going into a dearth, you may want to feed them so they have the ability to draw out comb in preparation for winter.

 

[Tubobutter]

I have two large supers and one medium with this hive before it swarmed. Bottom large was about half full with brood and the large on top of it was almost full with honey so put a medium on top it, and has half a frame with raised comb. But then it swarmed. The large one that has honey has enough bees that I think I could take a few frames from it with no harm done. That's why I was thinking large super. Sure don't want to mess anything up though.

I don't have any medium supers that have comb with bees on them at this time.
Thanks for your patience. Not sure I'm using all the right beekeeping terminology

K

 

[bevy's honeybees]

Do you have an extra lid and bottom board, or extra empty nuk?

 

[Tubobutter]

I have an extra lid, but no bottom board. What's a nuc? Can I make one quick?

K

 

[WBVC]

Make a nuc hive with a couple frames...5 if you have them. If you don't have a top or bottom just stick something under and over the hive in the mean time.

Bees are so much fun!!

 

[bevy's honeybees]

My sweetie made 12 of these for me. If you have a table saw they look easy to make, and sounds like you have frames already:

http://www.beesource.com/build-it-yourself/5-frame-nuc-d-coates-version/

 

[Knisely]

5 frame nuc instructions:

http://www.beesource.com/files/5frnuc.pdf

You can get by (for a while, anyway) with just using some strips of wood to lift the bottom of the nuc box off a sheet of scrap plywood by about 1". Another sheet of wood on top makes the top.

You can buy nuc boxes from all the big suppliers, of course, but if you can cobble one together from some wood you have around, you'll be set to go. If you're really into your bees, you may want to begin thinking about developing your apiary into a 'sustainable apiary', and raise your own queens. There are a number of good threads (and some good youtube videos) that Michael Palmer figures prominently in on this website.

Good luck!!

 

[Tubobutter]

Thanks all!! Very helpful. I can make do looks like for now. I'm going to try it.

Yes I would love to be self sustaining. That's the goal. Just so much to learn

K

 

[Tenbears]

you can make a Nuc Box which is a mini hive, make it just like your brood chambers look like but only 5 frames wide you can make a bottom board out of a piece of plywood and some 1 X 2s make it look like your hive bottom board, but smaller to fit the 5 frame box you made. Anything will work as a cover a piece of plywood or 1x 10. place in this 2 frames of brood with attached bees, and shake in a frame of bees. BE absolutely sure you do not move the queen. Then place a drawn frame, and a frame of honey and pollen. Move this NUC to a location away from the parent hive by at least 2 miles. if the queen is in a cage with a candy plug expose the plug and let the bees do their thing. If you do not have a place to move the nuc to 2 miles away you can face it in a different direction and place some grass and or branches in front of the entrance to force the bees to do a orientation flight. Be aware that this method is not foolproof and you will probably loose foragers to returning to the parent hive.

 

[Tubobutter]

Thanks tenbears. I needed this step by step.

Hope others can use all this good info from everyone. Thanks!

K