# Can you take frames of brood & bees from multiple hives to do a split?



## JClaunch (Apr 7, 2014)

I've got three hives and I'm wanting to split them pretty aggressively. Can you take bees from different colonies for a single split?


----------



## rv10flyer (Feb 25, 2015)

Yes.


----------



## DerTiefster (Oct 27, 2016)

Some even recommend it, especially when introducing a mated queen, because they find the "foreign" queen is better accepted. Can't say myself concerning the rationale, but I've done it with no problems when introducing a mated queen.


----------



## johng (Nov 24, 2009)

yes, do it all the time. Pull a frame from a frame or two from a booming hive and replace with drawn comb to keep the queen busy and out of the trees. Use these pulled frames to make up nucs. Sometimes I will put them all into a ten frame box for transport to another yard before breaking up in to the nuc boxes. They get all mixed up and have never had any problems.


----------



## BGhoney (Sep 26, 2007)

you can mix frames with bees no problem, you can't shake bees from different frames into different hives, that normally starts a war


----------



## wwfoste (Jul 19, 2014)

To piggyback on this question, can you take frames of brood from one hive, with the queen and add additional frames from another hive, or is that just asking for the queen to be balled? I'd like to split the queen off but not necessarily take 4 frames from the mother hive.


----------



## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

You can take brood from, say, 2 colonies and bees from a third. Shake the bees off as you harvest the brood, sealed and open, and put it on a strong colony, over an excluder.


----------



## humm (Jul 23, 2015)

So, in managing nucs that are growing fast, to keep them from over populating and swarming, you pull brood frames to be replaced with empty frames and utilize the brood to boost a weak colony or make another split. Do you move the frame along with adhering bees right into another hive without starting a war? If you shake the bees off and leave them you still may have an over population problem.


----------



## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

humm said:


> If you shake the bees off and leave them you still may have an over population problem.


Not if you give the queen empty brood comb right where she needs it.


----------



## flyin-lowe (May 15, 2014)

Last year I tried to let a hive make a queen without success. I tried to introduce just a queen later still no success. Then I friend pulled a frame from a nuc, bees and all. He caged the queen and I put the frame of brood, bees, and the caged queen in and that way worked. He said he sees better success introducing that way as apposed to just putting a queen in alone.


----------

