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How to Combine Honey Bee Hives

When you're faced with beehives that are unlikely to survive on their own, combining them is a way to strengthen and grow the colony. One method of combining hives is the "newspaper method," so named because a sheet of newspaper separates the supers of the two hives while the bees acclimate to each others' scent. By the time the bees work their way through the newspaper by chewing and tearing at it (about six hours), the new arrivals' pheremones will be familiar rather than a signal of danger, and the freshly combined hive will be one big, buzzy family.

Things You'll Need

Bee suit, helmet and veil (optional)
Gloves (optional)
Smoker
Hive tool
Full-size sheet of newspaper

Instructions

- 1
  Smoke both hives to calm the bees. Continue using your smoker throughout the process.
- 2
  Consolidate all of the frames and bees of each hive into as few supers as possible.
- 3
  Locate and kill the weaker queen. This will prevent fighting between the two queens, which could result in a queenless combined hive if both queens are severely injured.
- 4
  Remove the outer and inner covers from the destination hive, which will now be the bottom of the new hive. Place a sheet of newspaper on top of the hive directly over the frames. The paper should completely cover the super, with no gaps around the edges.
- 5
  Cut two or three small slits in the paper with a hive tool.
- 6
  Stack the other hive's super on top of the slitted sheet of newspaper.
- 7
  Replace the inner and outer cover on what is now the top super of the combined hive. You will have an extra inner and outer cover, bottom board and hive stand.
- 8
  Remove any remaining newspaper after two to three days.

Insects & Science