this is going to be an ongoing saga, but.....
there are bees in the hive that i brought home from the barn. I'm not sure how many, because it's just been to cold, rainy, and windy to get in there.
meanwhile, in the box.....I took a look and saw some interesting comb. i pulled it out to look at it and tapped it on the side of the box to remove loose material. from under a pile of comb in the box came marching out a bunch of bees.
ok, i know where they are. they have balled up under comb in the Rubbermaid box. that's as good a place as any for them right now.
here is what i'm thinking about doing: When the weather warms, i need to get into the hive boxes and straighten them out. I'm guessing i'll have enough frames and bees for one full box. when that is done, if i take the ball of bees from the RM box and lay them on the top of the frames with an empty deep over them, do you think they'll take up residence in the super ok? maybe i should put an excluder above the bottom board for a few days? I'm thinking that if i can move them, comb and all, they'll be more likely to stay in the hive. i can remove the excess comb in a few days.
what do you think?