# Splits- seeking advice



## garprob (Jan 20, 2009)

Here is the scenario. I have kept two hives in my backyard here in northern WY for 3 years- this spring I am going into my fourth. Last year I was not ready to expand my little apiary so did not split either of the hives- in order to try to prevent swarming I did not feed pollen patties and minimized the sugar syrup as much as possible to try to keep brood production slow until the dandelion and willow blooms. (That didn't work, swarmed in June anyway.) This year I would like to split one hive but am not sure how to proceed.

From what I have researched I have the following options. 1. Move a few frames of bees to a second hive and introduce a new queen purchased from a bee supplier. 2. Move a few frames of bees with eggs and let them produce their own queen. 3. Move a few frames with the old queen and either let the original hive produce their own queen or introduce a new queen. 4. Wait for swarm cells to show up and move a few frames with swarm cells on them.

This has been a very mild winter and temps are expected in the 40's and 50's for the next 10 days. The hive seems to have fared very well this winter with a pretty big cluster. Today the bees were flying everywhere with a large number of bees performing orientation flights. Any advice on whether I should start feeding now and when and how to move forward with the split? Thanks!


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

Any one of your options will technically work, however #4 may not prevent swarming. I would amend #4 to 'wait for swarm cells, then move original queen to a new hive.'

My recommendation would be to remove the current queen with a few frames of brood and bees to a new hive and let the original hive make its own queen.

It would be the cheapest and simplest method and should produce very good results. Even if one of the new queens fails to work out, just keep adding a frame containing eggs once a week until it does.


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

How long til you get pollen coming in? I would sure want the bees bringing in pollen before the bees raised of suppliment emerge from cells. I have sixty degrees here today with warmer forecast tomorrow and I am having real anxietry about the subject! I am real conflicted myself. Most of the hobbyists I know have suppliment on or are putting it on now. I will put it on within a week probably. As far as splitting goes, if you want to split and put in a ordered queen, It would plan on some time in May. I don't know how much earlier you are than I because I don't know your altitude, but middle of May would be early enough is my guess. If you want to let the bees raise their own queen, I would recommend you read mdasplitter.com the guy there has a good plan that I think is simple enough for any reasonalby bright person to pull off.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

garprob said:


> From what I have researched I have the following options. 1. Move a few frames of bees to a second hive and introduce a new queen purchased from a bee supplier. 2. Move a few frames of bees with eggs and let them produce their own queen. 3. Move a few frames with the old queen and either let the original hive produce their own queen or introduce a new queen. 4. Wait for swarm cells to show up and move a few frames with swarm cells on them.


Which one do you feel comfortable with? I haven't done a split yet but item 4 would not be my first choice. I like the deal the deck approach. Split the boxes up and walk away. It shouldn't matter where the queen is. How do the bees know the old from the new once you split them up and neither is setting where it was?


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

Solomon Parker said:


> My recommendation would be to remove the current queen with a few frames of brood and bees to a new hive and let the original hive make its own queen.


Works great.


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

There are so many different ways to do it - make splits, that is. I believe all of your hypothesis to be possible, given all other factors being suitable. When I'm making splits (I'm doing it right now), I examine all my bee resources very carefully, and give consideration to what equipment I have available or can make quickly, where I can place it, and what forage is presently available, or do I need to feed. Then I make the splits in the way that seems most suitable to the present circumstances.


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## MDS (Jan 9, 2011)

Went from two hives last year to nine. Ordered two packages, and then a queen from a northern breeder. For the other four hives I started them in nucs with swarm cells from the other hives when I had them. 

If you allow them to raise their own queen from an egg you might want to check them every two weeks, moving eggs or very young brood in if you don't find a queen cell to help prevent the workers from laying eggs or if they need to build a cell.

What is fun is to build a couple of five frame nucs. Move in some queen cells on a frame from another hive when you have them. Move a frame of brood with it, a frame or two of honey and a drawn or undrawn frame to make the five. Then, after you know the queen is not on a frame, shake in a couple frames of nurse bees into the nuc. If ya wait until later in morning or afternoon the forgers are out and easier to get nurse bees. 

You can then convert that nuc to a full size hive after the queen is mated. Really is a fun project compared to just buying a queen. I built a queen castle over winter and hoping to move queen cells into it for my splits or extra queens.

I use swarm cells rather than supercedure (which I don't cut out either) because I figure the hive needs the supercedure cells to replace their existing queen.

PS - As I'm sure you know, they can't mate a queen without drones. In my area they have not started raising drones yet. At least not that I've found in my observation hive or others.


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