Can't seem to leave the hive alone!!

[harvey]

Ok,  this is the very first hive I have had,  I caught two swarms this year and decided it was time to have a hive of my own.  I hadn't even seen a honey bee on my property for ten years and these bee's came to me.   

It is pretty exciting to pick up a handful of bees and put them in a box and then into a hive and have them all seem so docile.  Now I have been looking into there hive every few days.  Kinda angry them off last time when I accidently dropped a frame i was trying to lift out but they made a lot of noise but didn't sting me. 

Now I have two brooders set up.  I am not ready for a super yet as they are just now starting into the second brood box.  The second box is filled with brand new frames from Dadent.  they are wood frames with plastic in the middle coated with bee's wax.  Was I wrong to spray them with a 1:1 sugar water?  Will it help them start drawing on them?   Do I need to leave the bees alone or is it ok to check them once a week or so.

I read on here that axle grease stops the ants.  I put one small line around the 2x6 platform that I built to set the hive on and it worked no ants!

I found nine dead bees outside my hive this morning?  Is this natural?  All the rest of the bees seemed to be very busy.  Originally i caught one pretty good size swarm and then two days after I put them in the brood box i found another small swarm.  I put that one in another brood box and put it on top of the first one with two sheets of newspaper in between. I opened the top of the hive just enough for them to go in and out the top.  There is a  lot of activity now going in the bottom and top.

The bottom brood box has an entrance above the bottom board about half way up.  Just a hole about an inch round right in the center of the box.  Should i drill one in the top box too?   and if I do should these be covered in the winter?   Lots of questions huh?  I am glad that yall have lot's of patience and lots of answers.  I feel like I am learning a lot from this forum.

[Natalie]

It sounds like you are trying to combine the two swarms into one hive using the newspaper method, but you do not mention your queens.
Did you get both queens with each swarm? If so why are you putting the colonies on top of each other?
I am confused on what exactly you are trying to do.
You say they are each in one brood box and are seperated by newspaper and then that the hive has two brood boxes and they just started to move up into the second.
How long ago did you catch the swarms and when did you combine?
If its just recently the dead bees could be from fighting.
You will see a few dead bees here and there anyway but I am wondering if you have two queens and the two colonies are fighting.

[harvey]

I have not seen a queen yet but I do think that I had two.   I am trying to combine the two swarms as the first one was not really super large and the second one was small.  The first swarm was already happy in the bottom brood box.  I put two pieces of newspaper between that and a brand new brood box then put the second small swarm in that box.  I was told the bees would eat through the paper and combine into one stronger hive?  I was also told the queens would fight and the younger one would win?   

[annette]

Natalie

I have heard from one of our beeks here on the forum, Ray Marler, that he knows a guy who catches swarms and keeps placing them on top of each other. He just lets the queens fight it out.  Not sure if anyone else knows anything about this.  I thought this was interesting, and I wonder what other beeks here think about this?

Annette

[harvey]

I am just going of off info i have read here as I have never had bees before.  Always wanted them and am really excited about it right now.   How often is to often to look in the hive?  So far the bees have been very tolerant of me. 

[iddee]

Once a week is fine. More is not as good, and may slow your hive's progress down.

Combining like you did works most times, but can result in both queens being damaged or killed. It is best to eliminate one queen prior to combining.

[harvey]

I havn't seen a queen yet.  I have been able to identify Drones and workers but other than looking for a really big bee havn't found a queen.  I am sure that the first swarm had one just cause and would think the second one did too?   but as far as finding one of them haven't accomplished that feet yet.

[Natalie]

Annette, I have thought about that but it seems like kind of a waste of a queen, kind of sad too.
I wonder if the youngest queen is really always the winner.
I think I would see how each of them are laying first and then make a decision.
harvey, many people do not see the queens in their hives either but it doesn't mean that you do not have one.
I have one that I only saw once and haven't been able to locate her again, but I see that there are eggs in the comb so I know she is in there and she is laying.
Just look for signs like that.
Good luck with the hive.

[annette]

It didn't sit completely right with me either, just letting the queens fight it out. Thanks for the input

Annette