How to Combine Hives (Newspaper Method)

When to Combine Hives

Combining colonies isn't something you do casually—it's a management decision for specific situations. Here's when it makes sense:

Good Reasons to Combine

✓ Weak colony before winter. A colony with less than 5-6 frames of bees won't survive winter on its own. Combining gives them a fighting chance.
✓ Queenless hive. If a colony has lost its queen and can't raise a new one, combining saves the workers.
✓ Failing queen. A colony with a poorly-laying queen can be combined with a strong colony.
✓ Consolidating for honey production. Two medium colonies combined make one strong producer.
✓ Reducing hive count. If you're scaling down, combining beats letting colonies struggle.

Don't Combine If:

✗ Either colony has disease. You'll just spread it to the healthy bees. Especially don't combine if American Foulbrood is suspected.
✗ Heavy varroa load. Treat both colonies first—combining mite-heavy bees concentrates the problem.
✗ Both colonies are strong. You'll end up with one overcrowded hive that wants to swarm.

The golden rule: One strong colony is better than two weak ones. Weak colonies struggle, consume resources, and often die anyway. Combining gives those bees a future.

Which Queen to Keep

This is the most important decision. Two queens cannot coexist—you must choose one. Here's how to decide:

Keep the Queen That Has:

• Solid, consistent laying pattern
• Good temperament (calm bees)
• Younger age (less than 2 years ideal)
• Proven overwintering success
• Good hygienic behavior

Remove the Queen That Has:

• Spotty or declining laying pattern
• Hot (aggressive) offspring
• Older age (3+ years)
• Drone-laying (unmated or failing)
• Questionable genetics

What to Do With the Extra Queen

You have several options:

Remove her 24-48 hours before combining. The colony will become queenless and accept the new queen more readily.
Keep her as a backup. Put her in a queen cage with a few attendants in case the combine fails.
Use her to start a nuc. Take a few frames of bees and create a small colony for next season.
Euthanize humanely. If she's old or failing, a quick end is kinder than letting her starve in a cage.

Important: If you simply stack boxes without removing one queen, the bees will fight, and one queen will die anyway—but with more chaos and bee loss. Make the decision yourself.

What You'll Need

Single sheet of newspaper – Plain newsprint works best; avoid glossy or colored inserts
Small nail or hive tool – To poke a few starter holes in the paper
Smoker – Standard hive inspection equipment
Queen catcher (optional) – If you need to remove a queen
Ratchet strap (optional) – Secures the stacked boxes during transport if needed

That's it. The newspaper method is beautifully simple—the key ingredient is time, not equipment.

The Newspaper Method (Step-by-Step)

Here's the complete process for combining two colonies:

1

Choose and remove one queen (24-48 hours before, ideally)

Decide which queen stays. Remove the other by finding her and either relocating or euthanizing. The now-queenless colony will be added on top.

2

Move hives close together (if needed)

If the colonies are more than a few feet apart, move the queenless colony closer over several days (3 feet per day maximum) so foragers don't get lost.

3

Prepare the queen-right colony (bottom)

Open the hive with the queen you're keeping. Remove the inner cover and outer cover. Give a light puff of smoke.

4

Lay newspaper over the top box

Place a single sheet of newspaper directly on top of the frames. Make sure it covers the entire opening with no gaps at the edges where bees could immediately pass through.

5

Poke a few small holes in the newspaper

Use a nail or your hive tool to make 3-5 small slits in the paper. This gives the bees a starting point to chew through. Don't make holes too big—the gradual chewing is the point.

6

Stack the queenless colony on top

Lift the box(es) from the queenless hive and place them directly on top of the newspaper. The queenless bees should be on top, queen-right bees on bottom.

7

Replace covers and close up

Put the inner cover and outer cover back on. Make sure the bottom entrance is open for the combined colony. If the top box had its own entrance, close or block it.

8

Wait 2-3 days

Leave the hive alone. Over the next 48-72 hours, the bees will chew through the newspaper while their scents gradually mingle. By the time they meet, they'll smell the same and accept each other.

Why It Works

Bees recognize nestmates by scent. If you dumped two colonies together suddenly, they'd fight because they smell like strangers.

The newspaper slows the merger. As bees chew through over 2-3 days, pheromones from both colonies mix. By the time the paper is gone, both groups have absorbed each other's scent and recognize each other as family.

After Combining

Once the bees have chewed through the newspaper:

Day 3-5: First Check

Open the hive and look for shredded newspaper—this confirms successful integration
Remove any large paper scraps (bees will clean up small bits)
Look for normal behavior: bees working calmly, no fighting or balling
Don't hunt for the queen—just confirm the colony seems calm and unified

Week 1-2: Verify Queen Status

Check for eggs and young larvae—proof the queen survived and is laying
Reorganize frames if needed (brood nest together, honey stores outside)
Remove any empty frames if the combined population doesn't need them

Week 3+: Normal Management

Treat the combined colony as a single hive going forward. Monitor population, food stores, and queen status as usual. The bees have no memory of being two separate colonies.

Forager orientation: Foragers from the top colony will initially return to their old location. Place a branch or obstacle in front of the combined entrance to force reorientation. Within a few days, all foragers will be using the new home.

Combining a Queenless Colony

If one colony has already lost its queen (and isn't raising a new one), combining is simpler:

No queen removal needed—the queenless colony has none to remove
Place queenless bees on top using the newspaper method
The queen-right colony's queen will become queen of the combined unit
Queenless workers are usually eager to accept a queen since they need one

Watch for Laying Workers

If the queenless colony has been without a queen for 3+ weeks, workers may have started laying (unfertilized) eggs. These "laying workers" can be problematic:

They may reject a new queen
Their eggs produce only drones (useless)
Multiple laying workers make queen acceptance harder

If laying workers are present, the newspaper method still usually works, but success rates are lower. Some beekeepers shake out laying-worker colonies away from the hive and let the workers beg into other colonies.

Fall Consolidation

Combining weak colonies in fall is one of the most common uses of this technique. Here's the fall-specific approach:

When to Combine for Winter

Late September to mid-October in most northern areas
Before nighttime temperatures regularly drop below 50°F (10°C)
While bees can still fly and rearrange stores
At least 4-6 weeks before your typical first hard freeze

Fall Combining Tips

Keep the stronger queen. Her genetics have produced a larger colony—that matters for winter survival.
Combine food stores. A combined colony should have 60-90 lbs of honey (varies by climate).
Reduce to appropriate size. Don't leave empty boxes. The cluster should fill available space.
Treat for varroa first. Never combine colonies with high mite loads.

The hard truth: A weak colony going into winter is unlikely to survive anyway. Combining gives those bees a chance. Losing one queen is better than losing 10,000 bees to starvation or freezing.

Troubleshooting

Dead bees on the bottom board

A few dead bees are normal—some fighting can occur even with the newspaper method. Large piles of dead bees suggest the combine was too fast (holes too big) or one colony was aggressive. Check that the queen survived.

Bees not chewing through the paper

This can happen in cold weather when bees are clustered. Make sure holes are poked to start the process. If needed, spritz the paper lightly with sugar water to encourage chewing.

Queen killed after combining

Rare but possible, especially if both colonies had queens at the time of combining. Always remove one queen beforehand. If the queen is killed, you'll need to requeen or combine again with a queen-right colony.

Foragers returning to old location

Expected for 2-3 days. Place the old hive's bottom board at the original location—returning foragers will cluster there overnight. Move the board to the new hive entrance at dusk. Repeat until foragers reorient.

Combined colony too large for equipment

If you've combined two strong colonies, they may be crowded. Add supers as needed, or remove frames of honey to give them space. Monitor for swarm preparation signs.

Final Thoughts

The newspaper method has been used by beekeepers for over a century because it works reliably with minimal equipment. The gradual introduction gives bees time to merge scents and accept each other as family.

Don't feel guilty about losing a queen in the process. In nature, only one queen survives anyway when colonies merge. You're making a deliberate choice to create one strong colony from two struggling ones.

Master this technique and you'll have an essential tool for fall management, dealing with queenless colonies, and making the most of your bees' potential.

Key Takeaways

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