Joel,
I did something very similar to what you wrote but found that if you take the
queenless hive and put it over the queen right hive with double screen in
between,  and let the top one raise a new queen, then move the old queens hive
to a new location, it seems to work better. I also might have to redistribute
brood to even things out, to make the moved hive stronger because all the field
bees will go to the new queen's hive. Hope you followed that.
Bill Truesdell
Bath, ME
 
Joel Govostes wrote:
 
> In England there is a very nice beginners' manual entitled BEES AT THE
> BOTTOM OF THE GARDEN, published fairly recently, and that includes an
> excellent artificial swarming procedure, well illustrated and simple.
> Sorry, but I can't recall the author's name.
>
> ABC & XYZ of BEE CULTURE by Root has an entry about artificial swarming,
> but it is not so descriptive.
>
> Basically you take the queen and a couple frames of brood (and some food)
> and put them at the center of a new hive.  Any swarm-cells on these combs
> are removed during the transfer.  This new hive goes on the stand of the
> original colony, and the excluder and original honey supers go on the new
> brood-chamber.
>
> The original brood chamber is then placed on a clean floor, on a stand to
> one side, and fed with sugar syrup.  They rear a queen and are soon
> building up on their own.  The two units can be run separately from then
> on, adding supers as required, or, in time they can be re-united into a
> double-brood hive if increase is not desired.
>
> This plan is pretty straightforward, and can be altered as required. Some
> advocates recommend moving the original brood chamber after several days so
> it sits on the opposite side of the orig. stand, diverting more of the
> foragers to the other hive.
>
> I have never tried this artificial swarming, but would be interested to
> hear about the results users have had.
>
> "Shook swarming" is not quite the same idea -- you end up shaking most of
> the colony onto a small brood chamber of foundation, which requires more of
> an educated guess, and its success is largely dependent on the weather
> during the first few weeks afterwards.  IME anyway.              Best
> wishes to all.  JG