I just came in from moving the swarm to the position of the queenless hive. The queenless hive is sitting on top of the new swarm.
This job had to be done at night, with all bees at home.
Next stage should be done tomorrow.
Shaking ALL the bees off the upper hive will send off house bees, field bees and the laying workers. The floor will be removed from the top hive and it will be placed as a second deep on top of the bottom swarm's deep. All bees that return to the hive EXCEPT FOR THE LAYING WORKERS should be accepted as "innocent, non-malevolent " additions to the bottom swarm. The laying workers, not being familiar with the terrain shouldn't (according to the books) be able to find their way to the hive and, should they try to enter, because they have their own pheromones, should be rejected from entering.
The spring honey flow is building up now and should make the process less problematic.
Here's hoping it works as planned.
