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a weak colony and a swarm

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filmmlif:
i have a weak colony (with a new queen) and was thinking if i find a swarm i might add it to the weak colony to increase their numbers. what should i be aware of? i know the swarm will have a queen so should i eliminate her? advice plz.

Finman:

--- Quote from: filmmlif ---i have a weak colony (with a new queen) and was thinking if i find a swarm i might add it to the weak colony to increase their numbers. what should i be aware of? i know the swarm will have a queen so should i eliminate her? advice plz.
--- End quote ---



When you get swarm, put its super very near of your weak colony. Put new wax plate frames  inside and let them build cells. Give it 20% sugar liquid some litres. When swarm is normal, kill the queen and after 24  hours put colonies together. For sure that they not kill new queen, you can put in under a  little wire netting  box with 10 bees. If no one is hanging in the net after few hour, you can let queen free.

Or, you can put the swarm to the top of weak colony and net  between them and slide of newspaper. When combs are built, just take swarm queen away, and after few hour put colonies together.

2 supers full of bees is good start to nest. It is 4 kg bee swarm. That collect honey.

When I put colonies together, I just put them. But if queen is valuable, it is worth protect it for accident.  Wax building is important for swarm, I think.

Swarm loves it's queen. I you try to change it very first, swarm will be very confused.  They loose they mind. They stop working.

BigRog:
I have seen you mention a 20% sugar solution twice now. I have no bees yet but all over this site I have only seen 50% recomended. Is this just one preforance over nother or do you use different solutions at different times?

Finman:

--- Quote from: BigRog ---I have seen you mention a 20% sugar solution twice now. I have no bees yet but all over this site I have only seen 50% recomended. Is this just one preforance over nother or do you use different solutions at different times?
--- End quote ---


That 50%-60% is for winter food. 20% is aim to force build the cells, and not to store it. If you put strong sugar to nest at summer, bees cover it with vax and you will get unproper honey.

beemaster:
I was told that a 5 pound bag of sugar to 1 gallon of water is an 8:5 ratio. I'm not sure on the math part, sounds ok (to me it's mixing apples and orange adding wet and dry ingredients) but that is the mixture I use for wax production.

It's fairly easy, no brainer kind of math - I just boil a gallon of water, turn it down very low and add in the 5 pound bag of sugar and stir and let it go until it is completely desolved - cool and serve. I keep this tightly sealed in a jug (amazingly it all fits back into the same gallon jug - well almost) and I keep it refridgerated until needed.

Lots of combinations I have heard. This works for me and I get good wax from it, but experiment - that is what makes beekeeping fun.

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