In message <001b01c301d1$d540eb20$357b7ad5@computer>,
Joanna <[log in to unmask]> writes
> Hi ,
>My friend has  a Dadant Commercial hive and was wondering if anyone knows
>that apart from a swarm how they may transfer the bees from a national to
>the dadant.
Just put the Dadant over the National with a suitable joining (adapting)
piece from plywood. (Feed to get comb drawn). Once the queen starts
laying in the Dadant, use a (National) queen excluder to keep her in it.
Reverse the boxes, put the National above. Remove it once all the bees
have hatched or leave it as a super (honey for home). You can also feed
the frames to the bees by cutting out the comb and putting it in a top
feeder (or give it to National nucs).

Alternatively you could modify each National frame having brood to fit
into the Dadant and replace them once empty of brood later in the year.
In the UK, a Dadant is so big, you'll most likely need a dummy board to
keep the winter stores down to, say 50lb max. You can add and subtract
frames to suit the bees needs during the year and optimise honey
surplus. This gives a lot of flexibility.

My equivalent to the Dadant is based on the National and has frames 14"
square. The long frame lets the bees make vertical oval brood in spring
which is economical on warmth and is an efficient use of bees, so the
nest builds rapidly in early spring which is good if you have a good
spring flow.

I hope this helps.
--
James Kilty
West Cornwall UK

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