This section is from the book "How To Keep Bees And Sell Honey", by Walter T. Kelley. Also available from Amazon: How To Keep Bees And Sell Honey.
Many articles have been written and advice given on transferring bees from log gums, box hives, etc. and while this was practical in the horse and buggy days when money was very scarce and time of secondary value it is no longer profitable to cut the combs out of the gums and fit them into frames, etc.
This is a typical box hive apiary. The construction of these boxes is quick and economical. Besides the small V entrances at the bottom there is usually two cross bars about 1" square nailed about half way up on the inside for the bees to attach their combs. The honey, if any, is cut out in slabs from the top. This style of hive was out of date before 1875 but you will still find similar hives in use today.
To transfer bees the quick and easy way knock one side off the gum, place a hive body with full sheets of foundation over it, cover the big openings including the bottom, but leave an entrance somewhere and the bees will automatically move out of the old and into the new hive in about 30 days.
The only practical and worth-while manner to transfer bees now, due to the high value of your time, is to knock or break off one side of the box hive or gum and lay it on the ground with this open side up. Over this opening set a hive body fitted with full sheets of wired foundation and place a cover over this. Cover up the balance of the openings with bags, roofing paper or pieces of wood, leaving one fair sized entrance.
The proper time to transfer bees is in the early spring at fruit blooming time. It is important to examine the hive and see that the bees have a reasonable amount of honey (15 to 20 pounds or more) for feed during cold, rainy periods when the bees cannot fly. If the bees do not have enough honey it is important to feed them to prevent starvation. The feeder should be placed in or near the new hive body so as to induce them to start working in it.
Do not try to transfer bees after the middle of June unless you are prepared to feed the bees 25 pounds or more of sugar in the form of sugar syrup.
The combs inside of a box or a log gum are irregular. They cannot be examined for food or disease. The queen cannot be located nor can you determine how good a layer the queen is. Buying box hives is similar to purchasing any other property that you cannot sec. To estimate their value lift them for weight and also see if there are few or many bees. Heavy, well populated box hives and log gums may be worth as much as $2. 00, light weights and those with few bees are not worth bothering with.
If you transfer your bees early and have a favorable season the bees will soon be up in the hive body drawing comb and within 10 to 40 days the sheets of comb foundation in the hive body should be completely drawn out and filled with brood and honey.
The old gum should be completely deserted and free of honey and brood. If there still remains honey and sealed brood below after this period, make sure that the queen is above and then insert a queen excluder between the gum and the new body. Leave in this position for another 2 or 3 weeks so that the gum will surely be completely dry.
If you are not sure that the queen is in the new hive body and there are quite a few bees in the old gum smoke the bees in the gum and beat on the sides of it with a hammer for 2 or 3 minutes. Then put the queen excluder in place. Four or more days later examine the new hive body and if you find eggs in the combs your queen is there even though you do not find her.
When the old gum is free of brood and honey remove the hive body and place it on a bottom board where the old gum has been, discarding the gum. Cut out the old comb and render into wax and burn up all the wooden parts. Place supers on this new hive the same as you do your other colonies and requeen it at the first opportunity because the queen is probably old and will not live over winter.
You will find it so much easier and more profitable to purchase package bees than to transfer bees from building and trees.
We realize that to a beginner it will look utterly impossible to break a hive open like pictured here and transfer the bees and combs into the new hive without getting stung to death, however, this can be done with few if any stings. The secret is in the use of smoke. On this particular job you do not need to worry about using too much smoke; clouds of smoke will be far better than too little. Keep your fire smothered down and do not let any flame come out of the snout of the smoker. In working your hives always have lots of smoke available but do not use too much as it will disorganize the colony. Use just enough to keep the workers off the top bars.
Have your hive nailed and painted and with two or three frames with foundation, leaving other frames empty. Give the colony a good smoking at the entrance.
Lay the gum down on a sheet which extends under the new hive so that the bees can crawl directly into it and so the queen does not get lost in the grass. Put 3 frames of foundation in the new hive and pry or knock off the cover of the old hive, smoking the bees vigorously from the top and beating on the gum with a hammer to as to drive the bees out of it and into the new hive.
If you are successful in driving the queen out of the gum and into the new hive most of the bees will follow. Watch closely for the queen.
With an axe split the gum apart.
Use a heavy butcher knife to cut the combs from the sides of the gum. Have a tub handy to hold the honey and a pail of water for washing your hands.
Cut the good combs of brood and honey to fit the frames of the new hive. Remember, the bees must have food for the rainy days and you need all of the brood to strengthen the new hive.
Tie the combs in the frames with grocery string and shove 7 penny nails through the holes in the end bars and into the comb for additional support. In a few days the bees will have glued the combs to the frames and eaten away and carried the string out of the hive.
 
Continue to: