# Split before harvest?



## jcolon (Sep 12, 2014)

My two best colonies have a good crop in the drying process and a fair population. Im considering if is a good idea to split now, remove queen make nuc, and let them make a new queen, or is it better to wait till harvest time. What do you all normally do in these scenarios?


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

I take small splits late June or early July and overwinter two story five frame nucs.


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## sakhoney (Apr 3, 2016)

now is a good time to do your splits - while you have plenty of feed for both the nuc and the parent hive - don't be stingy on the feed for the nuc - they don't do much until they get queenrite


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## BigBlackBirds (Aug 26, 2011)

jcolon said:


> My two best colonies have a good crop in the drying process and a fair population. Im considering if is a good idea to split now, remove queen make nuc, and let them make a new queen, or is it better to wait till harvest time. What do you all normally do in these scenarios?


Not sure about Arkansas but still in a window of good timing to make a nuc around here. Now I personally wouldnt want anything to do with attempting to remove queen from a production colony this time of year. That sounds like a lot of work with the possibility of never finding a queen sorting thru frame after frame of bees.


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## sakhoney (Apr 3, 2016)

bird - if your not good at finding queens - shake the bees through an excluder/shaker box


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## COAL REAPER (Jun 24, 2014)

BigBlackBirds said:


> Not sure about Arkansas but still in a window of good timing to make a nuc around here. Now I personally wouldnt want anything to do with attempting to remove queen from a production colony this time of year. That sounds like a lot of work with the possibility of never finding a queen sorting thru frame after frame of bees.


she is always on the last frame you look at.
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then you learn that people really do know what they are talking abuot when they say there can be more than one queen in a hive...


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## smokin_trout (May 27, 2014)

I believe it's Michael Palmer that takes the weaker hives and splits them down to nucs. You could take some resources from your strong to help try and manage swarming, but them to make your crop.


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## BigBlackBirds (Aug 26, 2011)

if you really want to find one, sakhoney is right, run em thru an excluder. and then they won't be on the last frame but on the inside wall of the box or on the cover!!!!!!!

only time i really use this method is when i can't find a potential breeder any other way or when i need to set up a starter/finisher and want to ensure it is queenless. otherwise if i'm just making nucs I'm either tearing hive right down and could careless where the queen is located or i'm pulling frames above the excluder and taking care of it that way


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## sakhoney (Apr 3, 2016)

Blackbirds - Thats what I'm talking about - I split the same way - I don't care where she ends up - Also late in the season - I been known to just make whole box splits. Last year I didn't pull honey - so splitting time most hives had 3 or 4 boxes of brood - Check the box - its got eggs - slap a bottom and a top on it and move it
Medium or deep - didn't matter


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## jcolon (Sep 12, 2014)

I find Queens no problems... just don't want to ruin my crop...


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## sakhoney (Apr 3, 2016)

ok - 1 hive unsplit - makes a 100 lbs of honey
Same hive split 4 ways and each make 75 lbs of honey each - I don't see the crop being ruined


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## jcolon (Sep 12, 2014)

Wish the math was that easy. Splitting now, takes 4 weeks for a laying queen. And i dont know if all the honey drying up will be consumed instead, and come july/august i find myself with nothing for me.


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## COAL REAPER (Jun 24, 2014)

jcolon said:


> I find Queens no problems... just don't want to ruin my crop...


your crop is in the supers already


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## sakhoney (Apr 3, 2016)

J - nothing for you? Except the new hives in the yard - sell 2 - go to store and buy enough honey to last for years


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