Gordon N. Stowe wrote:
>
> Dear W. G.,
>
> I have a hive that is dying.  History is it is one year old since
> installation last spring.  Honey crop was good this fall of about 3
> supers.  The hive is essentially unattended during the summer as it is at
> a seasonal residence in Arizona.  On returning to Arizona this winter, I
> removed the supers and installed apistan strips for about 6 weeks.  I
> removed them and only then checked the hive for brood and activity.  All
> this time, bee population seemed very good.  On checking, found only
> capped drone cells.  No workers.  The queen either died or became a drone
> layer, but not sure which.  I could not locate a queen so dumped all
> frames on the ground and cleaned them of bees.  I installed a queen
> excluder at the entrance so her majesty could not reenter the combs.  I
> ordered a new queen and installed it in the hive about a week after doing
> all the above and the queen was released by the bees.  I checked about 2
> weeks later for activity, and could still find no brood.  So--she was
> probably killed.
>
> Now there are still a lot of bees in the hive but unless queened, it is
> doomed.  I bought a new nuc and installed it in another nearby hive.  The
> question I have is can I sucessfully place the old hive on top of the new
> hive and in that way save the old existing workforce.  Or would I be
> better to just let the old one die out or possibly dump the old bees on
> the ground outside the new hive and it they go in and are accepted so
> much the better.  I am concerned about just placing the old hive on the
> new in case the old hive workers want to do in the new hive's queen.
>
> I'd appreciate any suggestions.
>
> Gordon S.
 
Hi,
 
maybe...
 
put the nuc on the bottom...put a top board on it...put a super of empty
frames above that (new/used...maybe used would be better...I can see
both ways)...put a sheet of newspaper with a slit or two on the
top...put a top board over that...preferably one of them with a little
half moon cut in one end...put it CUT UP (give the top bees their own
entrance and exit...let's not force anything)...and put the queenless
hive on top of that.
 
the bees smells will intermingle...but they can't just immediately go at
each other...they have to eat thru the paper...and you've given them a
hive of buffer...but I'm unsure which would be best...new
foundation...'cause it wouldn't really exactly smell like either...or
extracted because it would be more bee-like...I'm inclined to go for the
new foundation...a no bee land...as a buffer until they get used to each
other...then over a couple of weeks remove the extra top covers.
 
give it a shot and report back.
 
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