New nucs combined, continued

Webb Ranch Fruit stand.  Bee pick-up spot

Beekeeper Mike

I drove to Portola Valley 4 days ago to pick up my two frames of brood that Beekeeper Mike was giving me in response to my complaint about the paucity of brood in the nucs I had purchased.
When I got home, I gathered what I needed to add the two brood frames and remove the double screen boards. 
I did the new hive first, and I think it went well.  First I took off the top box with the double screen board in place.  I took a look into the box, located the frames with brood, took out a frame from the edge and shifted the broodless frames over leaving a space next to the brood.  Then I took the top box off the double screen board and placed it on the bottom box.  There was more brace comb that I scraped off first.  I did look carefully on the screen to make sure that the queen hadn't been shaken off the frames.  I took out one new brood frame, sprayed the nurse bees with honey-b-healthy, sprayed in the brood box, too, and then placed the frame into the box.  I put a super on and added the top feeder with 1:2 (sugar:water) syrup as Mike had suggested.  Ta-da!  One hive combined with an added frame of brood.

One hive done

 I then repeated the process with the old hive.  Here I also had to look for the queen.  I looked very carefully and could not spot her.  There were a few queen cells; I pinched off some.  Since I had marked the queen and hadn't been able to find her on two occasions, I figured she was gone.  I finished the combining as with the new hive.  I can only hope there is one good queen in the hive.  I won't be able to look for at least a week and I think I'll give it two weeks so that all the added brood will have emerged.

Looking for the door

I had rotated the double screen doors two days before and returning foragers were still going to the back of the hive.  These bees had left the hive from the door in front but the entrance in the back was imprinted in their little brains.  I wonder how long the imprint will last..  This will take some research; I'm sure the studies have been done.
After all was done the bees were flying around and all over both the front an backs of the hives.




Olea's hive seems to be doing well.  They are eating the syrup, have eaten a small amount of the pollen pattie and there is new comb.
A week before I had removed some frames from the hive that had a bit of capped honey.  I had intended to collect it for you honey lovers, but the bees got to it first.

Chewed open and empty cells at bottom

Eating the honey

The bees had built some comb on the screen

The raspberries have blossomed