>>I'm getting so much terrific advice from all of you, I'm sure you can help
>>me on this one. My sweet little queen, newly acquired this spring as part of
>>a nuc, packed her little bags, rounded up a bunch of her best gal friends
>>and swarmed away. I watched them in a big fir tree in front of my house over
>>the course of two days, but they were up too high for me to retrieve them
>>and apparently didn't like the hive box I set out for them. I tried tapping
>>on it. Maybe I picked the wrong tempo or have a lousy sense of rhythm.
>>Fortunately she left behind 5 or 6 queen cells. Since there were still
>>plenty of bees remaining in the hive and they have an ample store of nectar,
>>I thought it might be interesting to split the colony that remains into two.
>>I've placed brood and queen cells in each box surrounded by frames full of
>>nectar and honey. I have partially drawn comb, foundation and filled comb in
>>boxes on top of each.  The original colony is going strong with field bees
>>commuting in and out when weather permits (this is western Oregon after
>>all). But the new colony has only a few slightly disoriented field bees
>>coming and going. I know the older field bees will return to the original
>>colony, so this new upstart colony isn't getting much field action. Should I
>>attempt to intervene in some way? Will they get rolling when some of the
>>bees mature to the field? What else should I be watching for? Any and all
>>advice is welcomed. Thanks for your help!
>>
>>Marcia in Portland
>>
 
Here are some ideas to try.  Lets call the strong hive A and the week colony B.
 
Switch locations and allow field bees to return to B.
 
Move some combs of emerging brood from A to B.
 
If A is strong enough try both of the above at the same time.
 
Any of these manipulations will weaken A and strengthen B so be certain that
A is strong enough to give up some bees and brood and be certain that B has
a viable queen and, if you move brood, that they have the bees to care for it.
 
If A is not yet strong enough to donate some bees and brood to B  you might
want to wait awhile.  B may not improve much but when A is a booming colony
you can give B a big boost.
 
Good luck.
Eric Abell
Gibbons, Alberta Canada
(403) 998 3143
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