# Uniting bees with newspaper.



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I have did it with a weak queen less colony to a strong queened colony in mid summer with good luck.
I now have a weak colony with a queen and a strong queen less colony I want to combine.
A couple of questions have popped in my head and the books doesn't mention them.
(1. Which colony should be on the bottom, strong or weak.
(2. Just to be safe should I cage the queen with one of my home made frame cages?
(3. If the weak queened colony is on top should they have an entrance?

Just wondering and would like some input.

 Alley


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## makeitdolou (Dec 6, 2005)

Hi Al,

I just combined a queenless hive with a strong hive and I put the queenless hive on top. I figured the strong hive foragers would come back to their own hive that way. I didn't put an extra entrance thinking they would chew through the newspaper faster. I haven't checked them yet, though.
Rosie


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Sounds like you did what I did in the past. place the weak queen less colony on top. I have the oppsite problem now strong colony but queenless. Weak colony but has a queen.

 Al


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

could you put the queen in a cage and put the cage in the strong colony, and then set up the weak colony on top like you would normally? that way the queen gets taken into the strong colony properly and the her pharamones start to work then once the weak colony chews through all is well (in theory?)


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

KSALGUY, One of my questions was> (2. Just to be safe should I cage the queen with one of my home made frame cages? So you are mostly right and do have the right idea I think any way.
That is what I am going to do, Cage the queen with one of my push in cages on some drawn comb in her colony. Then I am going to set the weak colony with the queen on top of the strong queen less colony. After a week I'll release the queen. 
She will have laid in every open cell inside that cage. 
The cage nearly covers the whole frame too.

 Al


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

will you leave her with the weak colony? 
what would happen if you put her in the cage you are talking about but put the frame with her in it down in the strong colony?


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

By the time the newspaper gets chewed through, the scents of the 2 colonies will have mingled and the bees can no longer tell who is from what colony. So, there is no fighting.

Or, so I have been told.

I don't think it matters which colony is on top, as long as they cannot tell which bee is from which hive.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Finally got around to checking them yesterday. I worried over nothing. They have chewed thru the paper and the queen had laid the frame full.

 Al


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