# Introduce new colony to existing hive



## Tildon Honey (May 11, 2017)

Hey guys, 
I have a new colony on the way but have a hive from last year with frames full of honey and everything else that my old colony was in. I did not harvest the honey from last year due to a few different reasons. Anyway... my question is can I introduce my new colony into the existing hive with the existing honey and everything else thats in there? Let the new colony clean house a little and start with a good quantity of honey? I did take the frames out and made sure they were kept dry and clean, but wondered if I should just start fresh with brand new frames or if it would be a good idea to give the new colony a jumpstart with cells that are already built and some honey already ready for them. Any advice would be appreciated! By the way I'm brand new here and this is also my first post. Thanks for any advice you may have.


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## fortytwo (May 9, 2017)

Welcome to beesource!

Not sure what you mean by "and everything else", but I presume the hive from last year doesn't have any bees? 
If none, then yes, give the frames with pollen and honey to the new colony.
Are you sure you don't have any diseases? That would be my main concern.
Do you know why last year's hive died?


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## Tildon Honey (May 11, 2017)

Yes, I lost my bees in the fall. I talked to some local bee keepers and they helped theorize that I lost my queen and therefore the colony left the hive in search for another hive. I have never had any sign of any diseases so far. I'll check again before introducing the new colony. 

So you're saying it's ok to go ahead and put the new colony into the hive of the old colony. Instead of starting them with new frames? I'm hoping that will work. It seems it would give them a jumpstart on the spring maybe? 

Thanks for the reply I appreciate it!


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## enjambres (Jun 30, 2013)

I don't think a queenless colony "would leave in search of another colony". For one thing, there is usually still some brood hatching, even after queen loss, and the nurse bees won't abandon the brood.

What individual bees might do in terms of begging their way into other hives is a different thing. But a queenless colony migrating_ en masse_ is not likely.

If you had a queen failure, the colony probably just slowly dwindled until there were no live bees left, since none were being replaced. If this happened late enough in the fal,l the tail end of the bees probably froze when it got too cold to keep themselves warm.

Were you checking for, and dealing with mites last summer? If not, that is the most common cause of fall deadouts. Mites would have died with the bees and so no risk to your new bees.

Good luck with your new bees!

Enj.


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## fortytwo (May 9, 2017)

Yes, be sure to check for mites regularly. Their numbers can be low one month and way too high the next, so keep checking and treat when needed.


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## Tildon Honey (May 11, 2017)

enjambres said:


> I don't think a queenless colony "would leave in search of another colony". For one thing, there is usually still some brood hatching, even after queen loss, and the nurse bees won't abandon the brood.
> 
> What individual bees might do in terms of begging their way into other hives is a different thing. But a queenless colony migrating_ en masse_ is not likely.
> 
> ...



I think your theory sounds pretty much like the explanation I got from the other person. There was a few (less than 50) bees left in the hive when I found them and they were frozen in a small clump in the middle. So I think your theory is what happened. 

I was checking for mites all last summer and early fall. I left them alone once it started to get cold in October. It was sometime in December when I found them missing. I had listened twice and heard them in there but it was probably 3-4 weeks since the last time I had checked and I found the hive empty. I didn't ever see any mites or anything that would have tipped me off to any problems. 

I'll double check everything before I introduce my new colony. But like someone already said. Any mites or diseases would have frozen over the cold winter, correct? 

If I do introduce them into this hive, will it help them to get a jumpstart on the year, with good honey production? Or will then not necessarily affect the honey production for the year?


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## Tildon Honey (May 11, 2017)

fortytwo said:


> Yes, be sure to check for mites regularly. Their numbers can be low one month and way too high the next, so keep checking and treat when needed.


Definitely will check regularly!


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## enjambres (Jun 30, 2013)

Mites will be frozen and long gone, but some diseases, in particular American Foul Brood - which is the baddest of them all - is not killed by freezing and persists in a spore form on the combs. That's why knowing why your hive perished is so important.

While I think you should Google up some info about and pics of AFB (just to be sure), I also think the timing of your collapse is quite commonly associated with PMS, mites and the diseases the vector, and too few, too-weak winter bees not protected by adequate mite control the previous August/September.

Enj.


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