Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => TOP BAR HIVES - WARRE HIVES - LONG HIVES => Topic started by: Tyro on May 17, 2009, 10:21:04 am

Title: How to combine a swarm with a TBH.
Post by: Tyro on May 17, 2009, 10:21:04 am

Does anyone have any experience or advice with regard to combining a swarm with an existing top bar hive?  I have a VERY small colony in a TBH and I thought that if I could catch a swarm, I could give them a boost.  Thanks.

Mike

Title: Re: How to combine a swarm with a TBH.
Post by: RyanB on May 18, 2009, 07:52:32 pm

Unless the swarm is queenless, I dont think you can do this as the bee's would attack each other?  In the very least one queen would probably kill the other.

Title: Re: How to combine a swarm with a TBH.
Post by: Tyro on May 18, 2009, 09:26:27 pm

If I catch a swarm, I was planning on pinching the queen that comes with it.  My TBH has a small number of bees right now.  I was hoping to augment them with swarm - but am not sure how to combine.  I was thinking about building a screened follower board - housing the swarm 'behind' the existing hive and feeding it syrup.  The hive can forage (things are starting to flow here).