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Author Topic: Well I just merged C3 and the new nuc.  (Read 3208 times)

Offline BigRog

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Well I just merged C3 and the new nuc.
« on: November 02, 2004, 06:30:41 pm »
Well I just merged C3 and the new nuc. The new nuc is very heavy full of honey, brood and girls. This was a real trip.
Picking them up I got a flat, 200 ft from the guys house. Got that fixed and Got my nuc. $65 and I have to return the nuc and topfeeder that was all strapped up for me. Got the nuc home and took a break.
I went into my hive and tried to find the queen , no dice. I looked and looked and looked. The girls were kinda agitated and smoking them seemed to make them worse. The nuc was about 5 feet from C3 and maybe they were not liking the smell of each other. I was told by the state apirist and the guy who I bought the nuc from both told me that the bees on top would kill the old queen and I shouldn't worry too much.
I put two layers of newpaper with slits between the top super and the bottom two. I then put the five frames from the nuc in my top super and shook the rest out of the nuc on top of the hive. I then had to sweep bang and shake the rest of the new girls out of he top feeder. Both hives were buzzing around they both seem to be in a "hightened alert" state, but I'm sure they'll calm down. I got stung once on my right pinky on the side right in by the nail, bad place for a sting. I get very little reaction this was about a hour ago and now I have no pain or swelling. What is it with bees and my pinkies? Been stung twice and both times on the pinky, one right, one left.
So now it's up to the girls. I would have looked for the queen some more but they were too agitated, very defensive, banging into me a lot, not at all the hive I am used to. But the nuc was too, so maybe it was the pheremones in the air, the nuc just being moved or a combination of things. It was a little windy and warm (83).

Well we'll see how it goes.
"Lurch my good man,…what did you mean when you said just now that 'You've got better things to do than run my petty little errands'…….?"

Offline Lesli

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Well I just merged C3 and the new nuc.
« Reply #1 on: November 03, 2004, 02:29:08 pm »
After a late September swarm, I had to combine my two hives as well. Isn't it fun doing all this fire fighting as a new beekeeper? As for agitation, my girls, gentle all summer, are now defensive, too. The foragers don't have anything to do but guard, so they're on the defensive, with all those stores to get them through winter, I guess.

I couldn't find the queen, either, and that didn't seem to inhibit things. It's been over a month now, and the combined hive is happily taking syrup for winter, and all seems well with the colony. I hope they'll get through winter and have a hive-busting spring build up so that I can split it back to two hives--though I plan to buy a few packages to increase the size of my "apiary."

So far, weather has been mild, so I haven't wrapped the hive, though I did put on a mouse guard--though with the girls being all pissy, I'd pity the mouse that tried to get into that hive!
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Lesli

Offline BigRog

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Well I just merged C3 and the new nuc.
« Reply #2 on: November 09, 2004, 04:36:02 am »
There is definitely a change in how they respond.
But I find that if I stay calm and be delibrate in my movements they seem to accept it. I find sometimes I have to walk away and let them settle a bit, it's a big change from what I'm used to.
"Lurch my good man,…what did you mean when you said just now that 'You've got better things to do than run my petty little errands'…….?"