# How early in central NC



## JasonA (Aug 29, 2014)

I'm in Salisbury, about 45 minutes north of Charlotte. If you are going to do walk away splits, I'd say don't even think about it before April 1st. I'd also recommend to move the queen and some bees/brood and leave the split in the original location. The split will need the field force and you are looking at a minimum of a 5 week decline in population. 

Assuming the larva is 3 days old:
13 days until queen emerges on day 16
7 days (rough guess) before she takes a mating flight
2 days (guess) before she lays an egg
21 days before the first round of brood emerges from your new queen

That's 43 days, but the time for a mating flight and the time before she starts to lay are variable.


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## adamf (Jan 28, 2006)

Good observations.
You also have to calculate if _mature _drones will be around when the virgin is flying. Drones take 23 days to develop and around 2 weeks before they are mature and able to provide semen for the mating.
37 days from drone egg layed to functional drone mating unit. I usually round up to 40 days.
Adam


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## ifixoldhouses (Feb 27, 2019)

I will probably split March 1st, they will be primed to swarm by then, just shake enough nurse bees to keep the brood warm in the split, or do it with a double screen board. Winston-Salem here. I have done it in February before with no problems.


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## Gray Goose (Sep 4, 2018)

cwoodar0 said:


> Hey friends, swarm season s fast approaching. We have two hives here that I want to split. My question is: how early do you split hives in NC. I am just east of Charlotte. I am afraid that winter #2 will arrive in the beginning of March and my walk away splits being to small to stay warm. Anyone else in the area, with some experience, care to share?
> Thanks!


have look at this thread









North Carolina


Re: Late Swarm zip code 27592 C2




www.beesource.com





or search on "post swarm date"
the bees know when the drones are ready.

take an average on the first 3 or 4 each year.
take a week away and that would be a "drone ready" time to split.
If you are buying mated queens then you can do it earlier.

GG


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## cwoodar0 (Jun 13, 2021)

With the help of the answers above, I may do a test. The second weekend of March ill try the first walk away split....I have a queen that is about to begin her 3rd season and its my strong hive. Im gonna take her and 3 frames to a 5 frame nuc box. They'll have two frames to draw out. They will.most likely want to supercede her as well. As for splitting the other hive, ill wait until early April. Maybe one will go well and if not then I'll combine the failed split and be ok


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## ifixoldhouses (Feb 27, 2019)

cwoodar0 said:


> With the help of the answers above, I may do a test. The second weekend of March ill try the first walk away split....I have a queen that is about to begin her 3rd season and its my strong hive. Im gonna take her and 3 frames to a 5 frame nuc box. They'll have two frames to draw out. They will.most likely want to supercede her as well. As for splitting the other hive, ill wait until early April. Maybe one will go well and if not then I'll combine the failed split and be ok


Check out the calendar I go by, it says split in March https://www.ncbeekeepers.org/wp-con...-BEEKEEPING-IN-CENTRAL-NORTH-CAROLINA2020.pdf


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## Gray Goose (Sep 4, 2018)

ifixoldhouses said:


> Check out the calendar I go by, it says split in March https://www.ncbeekeepers.org/wp-con...-BEEKEEPING-IN-CENTRAL-NORTH-CAROLINA2020.pdf





ifixoldhouses said:


> Check out the calendar I go by, it says split in March https://www.ncbeekeepers.org/wp-con...-BEEKEEPING-IN-CENTRAL-NORTH-CAROLINA2020.pdf


wow pollen sub and 2:1 in January...
way different timing

GG


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## joebeewhisperer (May 13, 2020)

I have a friend in Manchester TN (valley, 1K' elevation) that has kept and sold bees for many years. Recently he reminded me that last year he did early splits (probably 30-40, in early March I think) and "didn't get a queen back and lost them". He probably recovered the frames as hive beetles and wax moths don't get going around here that early. But it was a cautionary tale. Definitely take advice from these folks close to your home.

In our area, last year was a kitten of a winter, but a cool wet roller-coaster of a spring. Lots of older beeks with disappointing stories. Everyone bounced back, but I expect practices and time tables to change a bit here.


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## ifixoldhouses (Feb 27, 2019)

Gray Goose said:


> wow pollen sub and 2:1 in January...
> way different timing
> 
> GG


was 70F today


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## Gray Goose (Sep 4, 2018)

ifixoldhouses said:


> was 70F today


wild
18F snowing up a storm out today.

your lucky, can't wait till the first 70 day to crack some hives open.

GG


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## Gray Goose (Sep 4, 2018)

one more thing to consider on splits.
first or early splits make them bigger, if you normal do 3 frame maybe do 6 or 7.
then when you have cells later these will be 9 or 10 and can be split again.
better than a 1/3 of them chilling out.

my biggest worry for first splits is chilling the brood, including the QC.

GG


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## cwoodar0 (Jun 13, 2021)

Ya last year I lost my potatoe crop because I had a chiller in early April. I swear the temperature swings in piedmont nc is challenging for any agriculture endeavor. Gardening, livestock, crafting, etc. All have challenges when you want a leg up on the transition out of winter. I grew up in Canada and the weather was much more predictable....


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## elmer_fud (Apr 21, 2018)

I wait until I see capped drone brood before I even consider splitting, some drones running around the hive is better. I have split to early in the past and ended up with drone only laying queens that were a pain to find and deal with. I think this is a better method because the bees will do what they think they should, and are driven by the weather more than the calander.


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## cwoodar0 (Jun 13, 2021)

I haven't seen any drones as of yet. I did 2 hive inspections on saturday and my populations are super high right now. Deep and mediums slammed with bees. Mold on inside of top cover so I took entrance reducers off. The field bees are bringing in a lot of pollen and brood in all stages. Still, no drone brood or drones that I saw. I only pulled 3 or 4 frames in each hive just to make sure there were all stages of life.


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