Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: WayneW on November 23, 2008, 08:29:28 am
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This winter i am building my equipment, 2 medium depth trench hives. (Havent decided if im making them 22 or 33 frames).
My delema is, my current hive is a deep langstroth. How would i transfer the bees into the medium trench hive?
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Perhaps you could put a box of your trench frames on top (in the middle, or somewhere) of your hive as to get the girls to start working those frames.
See, the #1 problem I see is not getting the bees in the trench hive, but how to keep them there, with food stores, brood, pollen, etc. I wouldn't want my girls to just start from scratch, and have a new hive the queen wasn't interested in making her home.
So I thought that if you have trench frames that have already been somewhat worked by the hive, they have a familiar smell, and of course, are the correct size. Then you move those frames first, and then shake the bees in. They'll feel right at home.
If the majority go by shaking, then the rest will follow. So put a sheet in front of your trench hive and make a path for what fall in front of the hive can walk/fly themselves in.
Know what I mean?
Here's a swarm marching/fanning/scenting the air while entering their new hive. It was a cute little trail of bees from the small tree they took refuge to, to the Nuc I shook them into as a temp. home:
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3123/2586710630_4cd96900ce.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/barl0w/2586710630/in/set-72157608522962124/)
Regards,
Scott
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I build it so I could mount the deep atop the trench hive with the only entrance through the trench hive. The bees, not liking a void, will draw out the frames and the queen will start laying in the trench hive frames. At that point shake all the bees free of the deep super and put a queen excluder in between so the queen can't go back up into the deep. You'll then be able to pull the deep as harvest after 3 weeks (any remaining brood has hatched) and you're completely switched over to mediums on the trench hive.
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I build it so I could mount the deep atop the trench hive with the only entrance through the trench hive. The bees, not liking a void, will draw out the frames and the queen will start laying in the trench hive frames. At that point shake all the bees free of the deep super and put a queen excluder in between so the queen can't go back up into the deep. You'll then be able to pull the deep as harvest after 3 weeks (any remaining brood has hatched) and you're completely switched over to mediums on the trench hive.
:) Thanks Brian, makes perfect sense.