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Start package on its own in Mid-May or combine to boost honey production?
marcos:
I just got a package of bees today and am wondering what to do with it as it arrived 5 weeks after my earliest packages(different supplier who was delayed). Should I do a newspaper combine with another more established hive in order to boost honey production? I have 3 other hives all new from packages earlier in the Spring.
I installed these packages on drawn comb from deadouts. However, I do not have any drawn medium supers and I am getting worried I will miss getting honey as the bees need to draw the supers out before filling them. In regards to the flow here, honey locust is in full bloom and I am seeing a little bit of clover.
.30WCF:
You could combine them for a couple weeks then split the hive in half and give them each half the comb if you were wanting 4 hives to go into fall / winter.
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marcos:
--- Quote from: .30WCF on May 16, 2021, 10:06:55 pm ---You could combine them for a couple weeks then split the hive in half and give them each half the comb if you were wanting 4 hives to go into fall / winter.
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--- End quote ---
My main concern is getting honey, not necessarily expanding my apiary, in case that makes a difference.
.30WCF:
--- Quote from: marcos on May 16, 2021, 10:13:23 pm ---
--- Quote from: .30WCF on May 16, 2021, 10:06:55 pm ---You could combine them for a couple weeks then split the hive in half and give them each half the comb if you were wanting 4 hives to go into fall / winter.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
--- End quote ---
My main concern is getting honey, not necessarily expanding my apiary, in case that makes a difference.
--- End quote ---
How full are the hives you have? If you overcrowd them, you could lose half that hive to a swarm. You could split the package 3ways and add a few to each hive.
If they are doing good, I would probably just grab a frame of drawn out of one of the hives and put it in a nuc with 4 frames of foundation ( or a single drawn frame from each hive ) and let the 3 original hives do their thing. Next year you can capitalize on this hive. It will boom in the spring.
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marcos:
2 of the 3 hives have one deep pretty full of bees. Those 2 hives are running on 8 frames. Like 6 of 8 frames w/ bees. I added a second deep, but they haven't begun to draw comb on that second box. I did shift things around with the frames and do some checkerboarding and move some frames up to the second box in an effort to coax them to move up.
At this point, is it unrealistic to think they will fill up a second deep then also draw out a medium super, then fill the super?
--- Quote from: .30WCF on May 16, 2021, 10:52:46 pm ---
--- Quote from: marcos on May 16, 2021, 10:13:23 pm ---
--- Quote from: .30WCF on May 16, 2021, 10:06:55 pm ---You could combine them for a couple weeks then split the hive in half and give them each half the comb if you were wanting 4 hives to go into fall / winter.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
--- End quote ---
My main concern is getting honey, not necessarily expanding my apiary, in case that makes a difference.
--- End quote ---
How full are the hives you have? If you overcrowd them, you could lose half that hive to a swarm. You could split the package 3ways and add a few to each hive.
If they are doing good, I would probably just grab a frame of drawn out of one of the hives and put it in a nuc with 4 frames of foundation ( or a single drawn frame from each hive ) and let the 3 original hives do their thing. Next year you can capitalize on this hive. It will boom in the spring.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
--- End quote ---
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