I’m pretty much in the same boat as @ToxicDiver was last year, except that bee packages are not an option in my country at all (see this post for more details on hive/frame sizes and bee sources). I have the empty Flow hive ready to go, but didn’t catch any swarms this year (I even put up an ad in the most popular online classifieds here). I do have three Dadant hives though, and would transfer a colony in some way.
@ToxicDiver, can you please explain your method in more detail, and perhaps post some photos? How did everything work out for you?
I’m just wondering if the cut-and-paste method is the only option I have right now.