It depends on what you want for an outcome. You seem to know the concepts. I would try to weaken the hot hive as it will help their demeanor...
#1 desired outcome is just moving the hives. It's not urgent but has to be done over the next week or two.It depends on what you want for an outcome. You seem to know the concepts. I would try to weaken the hot hive as it will help their demeanor...
Then you might have hot bees in all three hives.Fewer bees in the hot hive, more in the weaker ones.
Thanks, but actually I just need to relocate them on the property due to the owners request. Dealing with the hot hive is a secondary issue.I will make an assumption that you are moving the hives because of some issue with the hot hive. Move the hot hive now. The issue may go away and then you don't have to move the others.
In the process of moving this one I would split, deep and medium to each half. If you can pull a frame out that has the cells for each half it would be good. Otherwise it would just be by the box. If there is no queen there is no preference. Some of the bees are going to go back to the old location so the neighbor or land owner will have to deal with that for a couple of days. Then you will have the same situation when you move the other two. However you will have two chances to pull the nasty bees away form this location and reorient.Dealing with the hot hive is a secondary issue.
Actually the hive was hot before I split it. The queenright half is calm now, the other larger queenless hive remains hot. Certainly being queenless isn't helping!They are probably HOT because they are queenless. Chances are that their demeanor will calm down once they have a laying queen.
You are going to have to break it down to move it so why not split it again if you already have queen cells? Splitting and moving go together. If the hive / hives remain hot you are going to have to requeen and making a hot hive weaker will make the job easier. The hives that I have split have only gotten testy not hot and only for a few days.the other larger queenless hive remains hot. Certainly being queenless isn't helping!
Good point. I don't really need another hive though, plus digging into the hot hive (even in two pieces) to make sure there are QC's in each isn't something I'm thrilled about doing…You are going to have to break it down to move it so why not split it again if you already have queen cells? Splitting and moving go together. If the hive / hives remain hot you are going to have to requeen and making a hot hive weaker will make the job easier. The hives that I have split have only gotten testy not hot and only for a few days.
The big and hot one has one deep and three mediums (the top medium probably only has a bit of honey in it). It's kind of inverted, with two mediums on the bottom that had most of the brood, then the deep (prob some brood, but more stores), finally a medium on top. Before the split it had two deeps and two mediums. I split it into two deeps (one of which was largely empty) and two mediums (both mediums packed with bees), leaving the two mediums in the original spot (so it's gotten all the foragers). I'd added the deep on top of the two mediums to give them some room, then put another medium on top as they're bringing in nectar like crazy.bison, how are you going to move them? How big is the biggest one?