# Going to attempt my first split



## whalers (Jun 4, 2011)

I dont want to screw it up. Can someone give me the straight skinny on how to do a split. I find conflicting advice and just want to get it broken down to some clear direction. Thanks


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## bmat555 (Oct 18, 2012)

I did a split last Sunday so I'll share what I did. Maybe not correct to some beeks, but live and learn.

I first checked that I had plenty of bees in both brood boxes. I then removed the top box and set it directly beside the the bottom box on screen bottom. Some burr comb and drone brood was torn open that was between the boxes. I could almost tell immediately which box the queen was in because the queenless box was roaring while the other was fairly quiet. I then checked to see that stores of honey and pollen were in both boxes and removed two frames of brood from the bottom box and put them in the top box so brood was about even. I did not look for eggs.
I then put a feeder on them both with 1;1 sugar water with lemongrass and spearmint oils added.

I went back Wednesday to check on them and found the queen in the box I knew she would be in. They had cleaned up they comb and I was able to scrape the frames a little to clean them up. Lots of bees had hatched with more in the queenless hive. I hope they make their own queen because I want the genetics of this hive, but I do have queens to pickup at Kelleys next weekend along with a couple packages so I will give them a queen then if they don't build their own cells. Good luck with your split. John


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## MarshallDudley (Apr 10, 2013)

There are a number of ways to do a split. It would be helpful if we knew how you are planning on doing it. For instance:

1. Split with queen in one box, and introduce a mated or virgin queen to the other box.
2. Split with queen in one box, and put capped queen cell into the other box.
3. If you have queen cells already in the box, then split with the queen in one box, and the queen cells in another.
4. What is termed a walk away split, where you split the hive and walk away, letting the bees in the box that did not get the queen raise their own. For this one it is important to make sure you have eggs or larvae under 3 days old in the box which does NOT get the queen. If you cannot find the queen, then make sure both boxes have eggs or unde4r 3 day old larvae.

Marshall


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## ARGluck (Mar 10, 2013)

There's a lot of variations of splits. What's your set up and what type of split are you trying to do?


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## whalers (Jun 4, 2011)

Working from a deep. Don't care why type of split, never done one before. Just looking for a simple way to do it so it gets done right.


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## Karolus (Jan 17, 2013)

The quick and dirty method to doing a split is as follows, locate a frame of eggs without the Queen on it, and then locate the Queen herself. Set the frame with eggs and no Queen in your new box, add at least one more frame with pollen and honey to the new box. I will also normally add a frame of emerging brood as well. If you have drawn comb fill up the box, otherwise just add frames either with foundation or without, but keep the frames from the old hive together in the new hive. Set your new box in the location of the old hive.

Now setup the old hive in a new location. What you have done is split the old hive by sending the foragers into the new hive and allowing the old hive to replace them as the old Queen continues to lay unimpeded and the hatching brood to replace the foragers. Keep an eye on their stores and feed either hive if they run low. In a month you will have a new laying Queen and the old hive will have more than replaced the foragers. Hope this helps.


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## whalers (Jun 4, 2011)

Thank you. Just what I was looking for.


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## MelanieWoosley (Nov 11, 2012)

http://www.bushfarms.com/beessplits.htm

Here is a plethora of information on various ways to do splits.


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