# Need advice - splitting or leaving



## allan (Jul 7, 2013)

Hi JML72 this my 2 year in keeping bees so I am more of a newbie than you are but this is what I did 
I had only 1 hive 2 deeps that was pack full of bees so I took the old queen 4 frames of capped brood and move them to a new 1 deep hive and left 3 frame of
egg, larvae, and brood in the mother hive so they can make a new queen and I super it up. by doing this I am hoping for 3 things.

1 getting 2 hive with out buying more bees 

2 keep the mother hive from swarming

3 get some honey this year


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## JML72 (May 24, 2013)

Thanks Allan. I'm considering the same idea, but buying a queen to avoid that long of a lag in laying (we have a much shorter season up here in New England!)


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## B52EW (Jun 3, 2013)

JML72,

I just coming into my 3rd year. Last year, I was debating essentially the same thing...I decided to do both. I split the existing hive to prevent swarming and bought a nuc. The split did not take...eventually, added a queen after trying to get something going for several weeks. All three hives went on to become good producers.


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## JML72 (May 24, 2013)

Thanks B52 - what do you mean "it didn't take" - they didn't requeen themselves? That's why I'm thinking I'd buy a queen to replace. Of course then I wonder if I should wait and get a native stock queen in July or just get a southern one and split early. My hive that has survived went queenless late summer and I requeened with a local stock queen Anecdotal evidence, but it's still evidence.) But then I do tend to overthink things haha


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

JML72 said:


> But then I do tend to overthink things haha


I think that's a prerequisite for beekeeping. IMO, a local queen is almost always best.


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## JML72 (May 24, 2013)

Brad - so do you think it would be best to split with a bought queen, then pinch and requeen with a local over the summer when they are available up here?


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

Read my signature line. 

I did just that yesterday. I lost quite a few hives this winter and it's too early for me to make one here so I pulled some frames out of my strongest hive and will put genuine Italian store bought  queen in with the two splits this afternoon, weather permitting. I don't want those genetics in my apiary, but I don't want the donor hive to swarm, so the Italians won't stay here long. I will likely replace those 2 within 6 weeks and sell the Italians off in a nuc or pinch them.


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## JML72 (May 24, 2013)

Thanks Brad - I appreciate the insights!


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## Beregondo (Jun 21, 2011)

Go ahead and buy a new queen, but also get the woodenware for a new nuc, with a second box and frames.

Sometime during dandelion/maple bloom, when both your boxes from the split can afford a couple combs, pull 1-2 combs with open brood and eggs, 1-2 of sealed brood, and one of nectar and pollen ...2 , or one and an empty comb if you have them.

That makes 6 frames total, and you're probably thinking you are stunting them by taking 3/frames each out, but this will give you more bees by midsummer than if you don't do this!

Put your two open brood in the middle of the bottom nuc box with the food frame, or.if you are using 2 food frames, the one with the most pollen.
Face side with the most pollen toward the open brood.

The other two slots, one by each wall, get frames of foundation.

Put the sealed brood and empty comb in the top box, with the brood comb in the center, with the last comb you pulled next to it.
Fill the remaining space with foundation frames.

The sealed brood will begin emerging, and when they all have, will give you a big work force to gather food and care for brood.

The bees will start tbqueen cells from the youngest brood., feeding them from the food frames.


Within nine days all of your brood will be sealed, and within twelve, the queen cells will be, too.

The nuc will need a minimum of nurse bees, and any frames not already drawn will be very quickly.

By the time the the queen emerges you will have a lot of food stores, a double nuc full.of bees, and a lot.of.room for her to lay in once mated.

In two more weeks or.less it will be packed with bees.

Remove a comb of sealed brood or two leaving at least one sealed brood in the nuc, and put one each in your production colonies.

You'll need to do this once a week or so to keep the nuc from overcrowding and swarming.
And your production colonies will get packed with foragers...at a time when reproduction swarm impulse is past, and only overcrowding will incite swarming.

So keep adding supers...don't let the brood nest get crowded with idle bees.

As goldenrod flow gets into full swing, stopnmoving brood to the big hives son that the nuc can put up enough stores for winter.

Doing it this way, you have a spare queen, getba split, get a honey crop, and next year you have an overwintered queen for your split that you don't have to buy, and a nuc ready to produce a new queen and repeat the brood production peocess or provide.resources to make more UC's by splitting.

Have fun.
Enjoy your bees.

(You'll have a lot of them to enjoy!)


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