Beginner's Guide to Bee Swarm Integration & Hive Combining
New beekeepers often find themselves in a bit of a pickle when it comes to complex tasks like integrating swarms or combining hives, as shown by the user's "rookie mistake." A straightforward, step-by-step guide—whether it's an ebook, video series, or online course—could be incredibly helpful. This resource could cover common pitfalls, best practices (like using sugar water spray or the newspaper method), and tips for queen acceptance. Not only would this help prevent colony loss and boost beekeeping success, but it could also bring in some extra cash through sales of the guide, affiliate links to beekeeping supplies, or membership fees for a more advanced beekeeping community.
Origin Reddit Post
r/beekeeping
I caught a swarm and added some frames from my other hive. The swarm seems to have killed the added bees. Did I make a rookie mistake?
Posted by u/Thebeergremlin•06/02/2025
Southeast PA
I caught a mid-sized swarm the other night in a neighbors yard. It was my first swarm collection. I was able to get the queen and what looks like a few thousand bees. I only had
Top Comments
u/Mysmokepole1
If you hose them down with surup with vanilla extract, added to it. You can get away with adding strange base to each each other
u/_Arthurian_
Yes you needed to get rid of all the bees before adding them. The bees don’t recognize each other so they fight.
u/Thebeergremlin
I thought about it but I figured it could be a little population reduction for my main hive. In a way I guess it was :( I ended up swapping the brood boxes on that hive because they hadn't e
u/justabuckeye
The swarm will likely stay as they now identify the brood as their own. Spray some sugar water on them when adding to disorient all of them and inhibit cleaning which helps everyone to get a
u/Thebeergremlin
Ah right, the sugar!. I had read if you give the bees a mist of sugar that they are more likely to take. I guess I associated that more with combining 2 weak hives.
u/NumCustosApes
Nurse bees will usually be assimilated. However bees will bee and are not alway predictable. They don’t read the same books we do.