having given this matter some thought, I think the way I would choose would be this: Take a large cardboard box and shake all the bees into it, spraying them lightly with sugar syrup and shaking the box lightly from time to time. Then add the queen - direct release into the box - once the bees are demoralised and not flying or running. Then I would dump them immediately in front of the hive and let them run in with the queen This is assuming that I didn't have another hive to split and add the old bees from the drone layer to (after the queen is established in a split) in order to arrive to arrive at two colonies. Allen W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper VE6CFK Rural Route One Swalwell Alberta Canada T0M 1Y0 Email: [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask] Futures, Art & Honey:http://www.cuug.ab.ca:8001/~dicka