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Combining bee colonies in the fall is a familiar and inevitable procedure in every apiary. With any configuration, by the end of summer there will be one or more weak colonies that will not overwinter. It is recommended to combine bee colonies for better productivity during honey collection.
Why is it necessary to unite bee colonies
Observation of the condition of the apiary is carried out from spring to the onset of autumn. If the bee colony has overwintered, at least 6 frames and the presence of brood are left in the colony, this is a composition of medium strength. With the reproductive queen, the swarm will get stronger, the composition will increase, and a strong bee colony will leave in the winter.
Weak bee colonies by the beginning of autumn will not be able to grow a sufficient number of young individuals for a successful wintering. If the bees stop taking bribes in favor of heating the young, the queen will stop laying. The pickers will switch to honey collection, at the end of autumn there will be an excess of product stock, and the number will be insufficient to maintain the required temperature in the nest in winter. The bee colony will not overwinter.
The main task, due to which it is necessary to connect bee colonies in the fall, is to increase the number. To strengthen the nest, it is necessary to combine several weak bee colonies into one for greater productivity during honey collection. An apiary is only profitable when it brings income to the beekeeper.
It is mandatory to carry out in the fall the unification of a queenless bee colony with a full-fledged colony. If queen cells are not laid on the brood or the young queen came out too late and did not have time to fertilize before the beginning of September, the honey flow stops, such a bee colony is doomed in winter without measures taken.
When beekeepers unite bee colonies
Connect bee families depending on the reason. If the goal is to get a family of bees for a good bribe, the association is carried out before the main honey collection. For a successful wintering, beekeepers with experience in beekeeping recommend uniting bee colonies in September. After analyzing the state of the colony, the beekeeper determines the feasibility of the event. Prospective bee colonies meet the following requirements:
- no signs of infection;
- there is a fertilized uterus with a good ability to lay eggs;
- the volume of sealed honey is normal;
- the numerical strength is sufficient.
If during the inspection one or more problems were found, the bee colonies need to be corrected. Without measures taken, the bee colony will die in cold weather. If he can overwinter, he will be incapacitated in the spring.
Methods for connecting bee colonies
Each bee colony has a certain smell, which the pickers and receivers can easily determine. The settlement of strangers with an unfamiliar smell is perceived with aggression, especially if the bee colony is with its reproductive queen. There are several methods for combining bee colonies:
- unification of a weak bee colony with a strong one;
- strengthening of the average colony of bees by a colony left without a queen;
- creation of a colony of honey cake based on spring layering;
- connection of the caught swarm and the old family of bees;
- the settlement of two clearly defective nests in a new hive;
- association of swarms.
Processing disorientates the individuals responsible for guarding the hive. Before the bee colonies are united in autumn before wintering, insects are fed with the same syrup with the addition of strong-smelling herbs or substances. Corked honey in combs from different hives will have the same smell.
How to combine bees
Insects have a good sense of smell and easily navigate the terrain. Therefore, they always accurately find the nest. To unite two weak bee colonies, the hives are gradually moved closer to each other. If it is planned to move an inferior colony to a strong one, the latter’s house remains in place, and the dwelling intended for liberation is moved.
Manipulations are carried out in the autumn only in good weather, when the working individuals flew away to collect nectar. The approach takes several days, the timing depends on the distance. On the first day, they move 1 m forward or backward, shift to the sides by 0,5 m. During this time, the pickers will get used to the new location of the dwelling. When the end point is reached, the home of the weak bee colony is removed and the colony is relocated. Collectors with a bribe will fly to the new hive.
If the goal is to unite two weak colonies of bees whose nests are at a great distance from each other, the shift method is not used. In the evening, each bee colony is fed with syrup, then they are placed in a dark, cool place. During this time, the pickers will forget the location of the former dwelling, then they can be united in a new place for each family of bees.
How to unite bee colonies in autumn
In order to unite the weak and strong bee colonies in autumn, the frames with the brood are removed from the inferior colony. This measure is necessary to control the number of insects in the colony. Families of bees with a minimum number are easier to adapt to a new home.
In autumn, the difference between night and day temperatures is quite noticeable. At night, the covers are removed from both hives, the bee colony gathers in the club to warm up. Empty frames are removed in the morning, making room for a weak family of bees. The queen is taken from the bee colony intended for resettlement.
The frames with the club are placed in a strong nest, fumigated with smoke with the addition of shag or incense. Combining in the fall does not cause problems, bee colonies quickly calm down. After a certain time, an inspection is carried out, the freed frames are removed. Two colonies of bees winter safely. In the spring, the beekeeper receives a full-fledged colony without signs of aggression between individuals.
How to combine two weak colonies of bees into one in autumn
It is necessary to combine bees from two weak colonies in autumn if there is a threat that neither of them will overwinter on their own. After the temperature drops, when the bee colonies gather in a club, their numbers are clearly visible. Insects located on 4-5 frames will not be able to warm themselves even if there is a sufficient amount of honey.
A bee colony with a smaller number of insects is subject to resettlement. Sequencing:
- They remove the covers from the hives, remove the pillows.
- In the evening, empty frames are taken out of the nest, where the bee colony will move.
- With the help of a special device, a set of frames with a club is carefully substituted for a stronger bee colony to the extreme frame.
- In one room, 2 clubs are obtained with 2 queens and the necessary supply of food.
In the case when it is necessary to combine equally weak colonies of bees in autumn, it is recommended to use a hive that does not belong to any of them. The transfer principle is the same, both queens are left. In the spring, a strong individual will get rid of a weaker one.
Association of bee colonies in autumn through a newspaper
In beekeeping, the following method is often used to bring bee colonies together in the fall. The event is held when most of the honey plants have already faded, approximately – the middle or end of September. Sequencing:
- Gradually move the hive in which the resettled bee colony is located.
- From a weak family of bees, the uterus is removed 5 hours before the insects are combined.
- Both nests are treated with a flavored solution; a drug can be added to it to prevent varroatosis.
- A newspaper is placed over the frames of a strong family of bees.
- From above put the body with a weakened.
The bee family from the lower and upper tiers will gradually gnaw through the paper, taking the rest out of the hive. The time spent working together will be enough for the two bee colonies to get used to the neighborhood.
Association of bee colonies in August
The autumn association of bee colonies is carried out in order to strengthen the colony for a successful wintering. In August, it is necessary to combine insufficiently strong bee colonies with strong ones for better apiary productivity. Weak nests are unprofitable, they will not give a bee product and will not overwinter. An average colony will produce little honey. Strong families of bees will provide for themselves and the beekeeper, safely overwinter with a minimum amount of death.
Association of bee colonies before the honey collection
For greater productivity, apiaries before the main honey collection in beekeeping practice the union of one family of bees with another. They take as a basis a spring layer with a young uterus, which has grown quite strong by this time. It is reinforced with brood from an old family of bees. It is better to combine adjacent beehives of a vertical design. Scheme of work:
- From the lower section, all sealed frames with babies are raised to the upper part, frames with brood from the old queen are added.
- In their place put dry or foundation.
- Both parts of the body are isolated from each other with a lattice.
- In the old colony, 2 frames with brood are left and dry land is placed.
As a result, it turns out that the lower section with empty combs will be filled with eggs and honey, thus another nest will be formed. After a certain time, children will come out of the upper tier, freeing honeycombs for honey. The joint work of layering and young individuals will increase the productivity of honey. An old swarm can be used to unite bee colonies in autumn or to strengthen a colony of bees with an average number of insects.
How to combine two swarms of bees
The swarming of bees is a natural process necessary to maintain the population. Beekeepers use this natural feature of insects to form bee colonies. More often, young individuals with a new queen fly away from the old family. The main thing is not to miss the moment of swarming insects, a flying swarm never returns to the old nest.
The hive is preliminarily prepared, the swarm is poured into a new dwelling, empty frames with foundation or dry land are placed. The queen is removed from a swarm from another family of bees, insects are placed to the first ones. The procedure is carried out in the evening. In the morning there will be drawn honeycombs on the foundation, and dry land with eggs. Pickers will fly away for a bribe. Merging two or more swarms is always successful. The main condition is that insects must be of the same breed.
How to combine a bee colony and a caught swarm
Returning a swarm to an old hive is one of the most difficult tasks in beekeeping. A swarm flies away with a still unfertilized queen, their task is to form a new nest. He never returns to his old dwelling. Before leaving, the scouts find a place; young individuals do not leave their home without a specific signal. If the swarm was caught, it will be quite difficult to return it to the former bee colonies, the old queen will not accept them.
For the test, several swarm insects are launched through the notch, while the nest is smoked at the same time. If, despite the smoke, the old insects attack the swarms, you should not combine them. This method is rarely used: the young queen is preliminarily removed, all insects are deposited in the swarm and treated with a flavoring agent, then poured back into the hive. The method will be effective if the breed is calm in nature. With aggressive species, the union of the swarm and the old bee colony is undesirable. The caught swarm is determined in the hive, the uterus is returned and the frames are substituted.
Safety measures
In order for the union of bees in the fall from two or more nests to be successful, the work is carried out taking into account the following recommendations:
- A weak swarm is planted with a strong one, and not vice versa.
- A sick bee colony, even if it is treated, cannot be combined with a healthy one, there is a risk of infection spreading.
- Individuals of different breeds, peace-loving to aggressive ones, are not settled in one house.
- The uterus is left more reproductive and placed under a cap for several days, so that representatives from a foreign family of bees get used to it and do not show aggression.
- Work is carried out in the evening after the return of all insects, then the pickers, tired and inactive, will accept the intrusion of strangers more or less calmly.
The colony, which is added, must be well-fed, with full goiters of nectar. Then the host will not perceive her as a thief.
Conclusion
The association of bee colonies in the fall is carried out in order to increase the number in the swarm, weak bee colonies will not be able to heat themselves in the winter. If the nest was left without a queen or she stopped laying, the insects did not have time to lay queen cells in time, the young bee queen did not fertilize before the winter quarters, and the bee colony will not overwinter without relocation.
