# Threshold for spliting



## Wildeman (Feb 15, 2013)

I guess I am treatment free. I use IPM and buy resistant stock and graft from those and my best queens to put in to nucs. I haven't treated in 5 years but I am not apposed to "soft chem" treatment if I really needed to but I haven't needed to. So, splitting is my main mite control in the spring and fall. I also steal brood frames for mating nucs throughout the season. In the spring I just split, now in the fall I feel I should only split hives that meet the Economic Threshold. Problem is I am not sure what that is. Any ideas.


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## Daniel Y (Sep 12, 2011)

I cannot say how well it will work just yet. I have attempted this method this past summer with some degree of success.

Next year during swarm season when I start finding queen cells in my hives. I am already set up with 12 queen castle compartments and 8 additional mini mating nucs. I don't think this will be nearly enough. Btu as i find queen cells that frame along with one frame of stores will be moved to the castles. Any additional cells on that frame will be removed and given to a mini nuc. Any cells remaining after all compartments are filled will be placed in an incubator to emerge. These will be sold as cells or virgin queens or used to replace queens that failed to survive their mating flight.


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## AR Beekeeper (Sep 25, 2008)

Those numbers vary from area to area, you may be able to check with your bee inspector to find the numbers for your location. I am on the same latitude as Raleigh and at an elevation of 800 feet and our numbers are 50 natural mite fall in 24 hours for the Economic Threshold.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Now is not the time to split in NC...


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## Wildeman (Feb 15, 2013)

Michael Bush said:


> Now is not the time to split in NC...


I have already done my fall splits for this year. I did them in the last couple weeks of Aug at the end of the sour wood flow. Which is basically the same time people treat here. This year I did alcohol washes with 1/3 cup of bees on hives with queens that going through their second season. It may have been a mistake but I did not do mite counts on hives headed by first year queens. If the count was above 8 I split. I was really just trying to get an idea for next year on the numbers other people used.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

very interesting devlin, thanks for sharing.

what were your winter losses like last year?


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## Wildeman (Feb 15, 2013)

About 30 percent but I did not do fall splits or breed queens last year. This is a new method for me, I am going to try it for a couple of years and see how it goes. It makes more ecological sense to me, but it my not reduce my losses. 

I have 19 hives at the moment and would like to have 25 or so after splits in the spring. This is a hobby for me so I get to experiment and learn which is really what it is all about.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

about the same here, also not treating, also going to start taking mite counts in the fall using alcohol wash. thanks again.


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