Natural Beekeeping International Forum

[stevebuzz]

Hi all hope your beekeeping year is going well.
I will be uniting colonies that currently occupy the same TBH's. I will be moving the bars up together with a modified paper infill follower, I am okay with that part, my question is currently each colony has it's own entrance one at each end, is it best to leave both entrances open with paper divide in place, and maybe not achieve the unit or close one entrance after flying is over for the day, and force the uniting. If the closed entrance is the best option, should the one remaining queen be the one that's entrance dose not change. I guess the change and confusion will make the bee's that lost their entrance reorient themselves to the new, to them entrance.
Regards
Steve.

[AugustC]

I would leave the entrances where they are until they have been united. I would then retain the entrance at the end where the reigning queen resides.
The bees tend to keep their brood nest at the end where the entrance is.

How many combs are there at each end and do the combs transition to honey comb?
If there are a number of honey combs for each colony and this is the point at which you are uniting it is possible that they may retain two queens. The queen will not usually cross the honey barrier and if you are deal with a hive of ?30 top bars there may well be enough room for them both. If this does occur each queen would retain a brood nest at their end of the hive and the bars in the middle would become the honey storage. You may well need to super the middle as a two queen system could be quite productive.

[stevebuzz]

Due to collecting swarms into double figures over the last two months, I have run out of boxes, I have three TBH's with one and two swarms the other end to the main colony, I have evaluated which queens to keep, so will leave them with the main entrance. If I leave the entrances open, I guess I will know within a day or two if they are one happy family and can then close up leaving the main entrance with, as you say the reigning queen. I don't fancy the two queen route, I have 34 TB to play with so will rearrange them when all's settled down.
Steve.