[rand]

Hello,
Another beeginer questions:

There are some situations when we need to add
young bees to another hive to increase the young population
for strengthening purposes.

1. How can i control what i'm adding to the second hive (youngs or adults)?
2. what is the right way to do this?
3. If i slightly shake a comb, are the bees still staying on the comb are youngs
because they didn't fly?


Thank you vey much
Randi

 

[rkr]

If you have sealed brood, transferring that is the easiest way to add young bees and add strength to a hive....but that does not answer your question!!! :doh:

If you move some frames of bees (without the queen), and place them in a hive body (w/top and bottom) or nuc several feet away (10-20 feet should be more than enough), the foragers will return to the old hive and you will be left with younger "house" bees.

Then, the next morning, you can shake them off the frames and return the frames to the original hive , or just transplant the frames and let them raise the brood...This will assure that you have mostly pre-forager aged bees in your transplant.

How many frames you use depends on how many bees you need.

RKR

I am curious what your goal is.

 

[fish_stix]

If you use a frame of open brood, most of the bees on that frame are, by necessity, nurse bees. Just brush them off into the receiving hive.

 

[rand]

thanks for the answers.

But if i'm taking frame with bees that include younger and foragers
and put it into a new hive, are the new foragers will be killed by the
native hive residents ?

Randi

 

[Michael Palmer]

With a two brood chamber hive...

Place queen and sealed brood in bottom box, an excluder on top, and the top brood box with the unsealed brood on top of the excluder. Replace supers and cover overnight.

Next day, the young nurse bees will be on the unsealed brood in the top box and no queen. Shake them off into the hive you are strenthening.