On Wed, 15 Jun 1994 Aaron Morris <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>About four weeks ago I created a shook swarm from a hive that was
>preparing to swarm.  I shook between half and two thirds of the bees
>from the original hive into a shallow honey super/brood chamber
>containing nine frames of foundation only.  I located the queen and
>moved her into the shallow super, to which I added a queen excluder and
>three supers containing round section comb frames.  My goal in this
>maneuver was twofold: to prevent the hive from swarming and to harvest a
>crop of round sections.
>
>I placed the shook swarm on the original hive site so all field bees
>would return there.  I cut out numerous queen cells from the original
>hive (all I could find), introduced a queen in a queen cage, placed the
>hive about four feet behind the original site and closed everything up.
>Two weeks later I moved the original hive about twenty feet away so
>the bees that became field bees in that time would drift to the shook
>swarm.
>
>Meantime, back at the shook swarm the queen has been doing a regal job
>producing a new generation.  The shallow super brood chamber is filled
>with eggs, larvae and capped brood.  The bad news is that the bees have
>not been that quick to move into the round section supers.
>
>Now while all this was going on, I captured a mid sized swarm of bees
>that I put into a shallow super brood chamber with two medium (Illinois)
>supers on top.  Both this captured swarm and the shook swarm are
>progressing, but not as quickly as the honeyflow.  I am considering
>uniting the captured swarm with the shook swarm and operating it as a
>two queen hive.  I would do this by placing a queen excluder and a sheet
>of newspaper between both shallow brood chambers and place the round
>section supers above both.
>
>Anyone care to comment on what I'm considering?  Does this sound like an
>idea with merit or does this sound like total folly?  Anyone have any
>experience running a two queen colony?  If I go for this, I'll do it
>this Saturday, so send those comments quickly!
 
Haven't done a 2-Q colony myself, but a keeper in my club does it all
the time, and has instructed the group on his method. I'll summarize
for you. He layers his equipment as follows:
---inner/outer covers-----
Honey supers (lots - they fill them fast with this arrangement!!)
----optional Q-excluder - to keep brood out of supers-----
Deep hive body with Q #1, brood, etc.
-----Required Q-excluder------
Deep hive body - no Queen!! Just honey storage, and space for bees
-----Required Q-excluder------
Deep hive body with Q #2, brood, etc.
------bottom board, etc. --------
 
Things to think about: 2 Q-excluders needed, with some separation,
as the queens can fight through a single excluder - same reason
that "double screens" are used instead of single.
 
Also, providing an upper entrance for the bees is beneficial -
lots less work for the bees to get the nectar to the supers
that way.
 
Combining with newspaper is appropriate - you want to
give the scents of the two hives a chance to combine
before they have full access to one another.
 
This combination is often done starting with two full-strength
colonies, and crowding them into the resulting three deeps
plus supers. Result is LOTS of bees, and excellent honey
storage into the supers. Need to keep on top of the supers
(so to speak) as they get filled very rapidly - you may need
to pull some off, and add more as the season progresses.
 
I'm not sure how he over-winters his colonies.
 
The story he tells about why he keeps his bees this way
is that his wife said he could have a maximum of seven hives.
What she didn't say was how tall they could be!!! So, now
he has seven (tall) stacks of boxes, 14 Queens, lots of honey, and
a happy wife! Sounds good to me!
 
Hope this helps.
 
Rick Hough, a beekeeper from Hamilton, MA, USA (NE of Boston)
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Actively seeking information for the BEE-L FAQ!! Please e-mail
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