Hi,
 
I have a hive that lost it's queen in the fall and had to be requeened. The
cluster covers about 2 or so frames, and where the cluster is, there is
larvae and capped brood. The hive population has not really grown since it
was requeened and I suspect with the population as low as it is, it's all
they can do to break even. The queen seems to be laying well, she just
doesn't seem  to have a big enough cluster to raise more young. I have been
feeding the bees with syrup and as I live in southern California, they are
able to forage and bring in a fair amount of pollen.
 
I have another larger hive that has built up dramatically in the last month.
 
I've thought about moving some capped brood from the big hive to the small
one, but as the cluster in the small hive already has as much brood as it
can cover, I'm afraid the added brood will not be maintained at temperature
and it will succumb to chalkbrood. The nights temperatures go down to the
forties F with accasionaly drops into the 30's.
 
I've also thought about adding a few frames of brood with bees from the big
hive using the newspaper method, but I'm concerned about rejection and/or
subsequent raiding by the big hive. My plan was to put three or so frames
of brood and bees from the big hive in a super above the small hive
separated by newspaper, and then after a few days put them all in the lower
super. In my favor, the bees are very busy with the winter flow, so they
are as unlikey as they ever will be to raid, and both hives are mellow.
 
Does anyone have any ideas how I can help this small hive build it's
population?
 
Paul