# Combine two hives for winter?



## beenotafraid (Apr 14, 2015)

Hi all!

I live in WI and am in my third season of hobby beekeeping. I haven't yet had a hive successfully overwinter. One of my hives is a langstroth and the other is a top-bar. The lang is thriving and has a good chance of making it this winter, I believe. The top-bar is weaker: I had a busy summer and accidentally let it swarm in mid-July (oops). I'm going to dig in this weekend and see how they're doing with honey stores, but considering that they had barely a drop of honey in the hive before they threw the swarm, I don't expect to find enough in there for winter.

Given the situation, is it better to take whatever honey combs and workers I find in the top-bar, allow them to combine with the colony in the Langstroth (by putting them in another deep box, separated by a sheet of newspaper), and then feed them through the end of the season and expect to feed them also in the winter? Or is it better to just let the Langstroth colony alone, and let the top-bar colony die? Essentially, does having a larger colony improve their chances in a colder climate, even though I might have to feed them more? Or would the stress of combining colonies this late in the year just throw them all off and destroy the chances of both hives?

Would love any opinions and advice. Thank you!!


----------



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I would combine them my self but you need tyo decide what queen to *KILL.*
I would keep the queen in the lang myself, being she is established in there right now.

I don't understand people who do top bar hives which were designed for a hot climate in Africa to begin with then some one decides they can make the bees over winter in one here in the states and made it work a year or so. In the wintyer bees work up in what is called a chimmy effect. How can they work up in a top bar hive?

Is it really a cheaper way when you have to restock a dead out every year with $100 bees.

 Al


----------



## beenotafraid (Apr 14, 2015)

Thank you for the advice, Al. That is how I was leaning, too. I definitely know which queen I'm going to kill - she's already half dead anyway, sadly.

And you are right that the top-bar is probably not the best design for northern winters! I knew this going in, but wanted to try it because a company in Maine seems to have good success with them, even in winter, and because I am trying to get over a shoulder/neck injury. I thought if I could get it to work, it would save me a lot of lifting! It is true, it's expensive to replace if you have to buy new bees each year and so I will probably not use it again, but I have to say that I have learned the most from the top-bar and that's why I kept trying it. The structure makes it easy to be very hands-on without exciting or angering the bees, since you only need a small opening to work it. I can check that hive without even a veil for much of the season, and all my younger siblings and their friends can stand right next to me wearing no protection and can learn a whole lot, but we have less luck with this with the langstroth. If anyone is debating the pros and cons of a top-bar hive, it makes a great educational tool, but I think you have to work harder to succeed with it in a northern climate. My two cents...

Thanks again!


----------

