when using a bee vac on a cut-out. yer vacuuming bees and cutting out comb to put in frames, how long or when do you put the bees back in the hive with the comb(brood)? I have done cut outs before just not with a vac.
If you vac them into the shop vac, you will kill them. You have to make a secondary vac box to get them before entering the shop vac. Here's mine. It's called the Tom Sawyer vac, as that's the man who made the first one and gave it to me. http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j226/Iddee/BEE%20VAC/ The yellow box is a router controller for reducing the vacuum. If you want to borrow it, come get it. I will show you how I use it and you can do the cut out and make you a pattern while you have it. If you are interested, pm me and I'll send you my phone number and address. I'm in Randleman.
If I can leave them on site until dark, I combine them as soon as I'm done. If not, I combine them when I get to the bee yard.
There will be many escapees when you combine them. They have to have time to regroup. If you can't leave them there until dusk, you have no choice. If some chill, they will remove them. Also, you never vac them all. there will be some on the brood. I try to do cutouts when the temp is 80 or above.
