At 02:57 6/21/96 -0700, you wrote: >---------------------- Information from the mail header ----------------------- >Sender: Discussion of Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]> >Poster: Marcia Sinclair <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Breaking up is hard to do >------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >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 > I suggest that you watch the "weak" colony very closely. If it looks like they're going to dwindle down to nothing, then I suggest introducing them back into the strong colony using the "newspaper" method. Take the lid off of the strong colony. Lay a sheet of newspaper over the top of the hive, so that it covers it completely. Using your hive tool, make some slits in the paper (not big enough to allow a bee through, just odor). By the time they eat all the paper away (about 5 to 7 days) they will accept each other. Regards, Mike Wallace Sar Shalom Apiary McKinney, Texas USA "Out of the heart, the mouth speaks."