# Tried to fix cross comb-bees won't go back inside



## ozark.gardens (Jan 30, 2016)

Ok so I caught a wild swarm, and put it in a super old hive (it was in the rafters of the garage, possibably drone the 30's or 20's). Has foundationless frames. Opened it up 1 1/2 weeks later- BAD cross comb. I mean completely diagonal. A week later (had to go out of town)we went to work on it- So we did the best we could with a knife and masking tape (put as many back as we could, taping them to the frames) but we lost A LOT of bees, brood, honey. Who knows if the queen made it. It was super upsetting. Anyway, it's been a couple hours and I walked back over there.. Most of them are under the box (lag, sitting on blocks). Is this ok/normal? What do I do? Are they swarming? Help!

Background: first year beekeeper/ my other 2 hives are top bar so I really don't know what I'm doing with a lag.


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## sakhoney (Apr 3, 2016)

There in shock - like a bear just visited the hive - sometime if damaged enough they will leave - give them a day or two and see what happens - NEXT time
put a new box on top of them - let them build it out - keep putting on supers until they move from the junk - then pull the junk box - this might take until next spring


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## enjambres (Jun 30, 2013)

When my bees were first hived as fairly-recent swarms that were cut-out from my barn walls, they promptly left their nice new boxes and most of them returned to the still-open wall cavities. Of the three colonies that were done that day, one took another day (and another round of being dumped back into their boxes); another took about three days and two re-hivings, and the third one took two miserable_ weeks_ of constant struggle before they gave it up and settled in.

Considering that the boxes were suspend high up against the barn walls and required extension ladder work to access them each time, it's a wonder I didn't resort to a can of Raid before all was said and done. 

But they eventually became my beloved bugs and I cried last summer when the first of those queens was superceded (in her third summer with me) and I know I'll be grieving soon as the remaining two are being superceded right now. 

Based on my experience, I _think_ your bees will settle down in the Langs, but you may have to try dumping them back in again. It's also possible your queen is still not in the hive so handle those blobs of bees with care. I used a plastic grain scoop, with a flat bottom, for my mass re-hivings. Still, I killed dozens, maybe hundreds, every time. I was utterly appalled by the mayhem and slaughter involved, but in doing the cut-out I had destroyed their chosen sites (removed honey and comb) so I felt responsible for doing my utmost to offer them something better, at least better to my eyes, if not theirs. I do not remember my first summer with my bees with any sense of pleasure. Just guilt and keen regret over what I had done to the bees, albeit with the best of intentions.

I wish you, and your bees, good luck. At least you're ahead of the game, having some experience dealing with bees in general.

Enj.


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