Combine???

[hilreal]

Over the last couple of weeks I have come into possesion (swarms, cutouts, bees in tree) of 4 small groups of bees.  Each having maybe 2000 bees or so.  Only one likely has a queen (will check 2 tomorrow and just picked up 1 tonight that I am 99.9% sure I didnt get the queen).  They are in nuc boxes.  Should I move them to boxes and do a newspaper combine?  Can I do all 4 at once or should I let two at a time get used to each other?

[iddee]

Do them all at once and you probably won't even need the newspaper. When combining more than 2, they don't fight near as much as combining just 2.

[annette]

This is interesting Iddee.

How do you combine all these different hives?? Just dump them all together in one super??

[iddee]

Open all 4 and start placing frames in a 8 or 10 frame box. They get confused when there is more than one smell and think they are the intruders, rather than the protectors.

[annette]

OK great information. I know when I combined my 2 swarms last week there was so much fighting, I remember you mentioned here they would calm down in 48 hours and that is exactly what happened.