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