# Benefits from splitting double deep into two singles?



## K9-451 (Mar 5, 2015)

What, if any, benefit is there to splitting an established double deep hive into two singles? Both have brood, eggs, larvae, honey and drawn frames. My queen is doing awesome and I don't want to lose her to a swarm. I know the queenless hive will be behind but what about the queen right hive? I also had a shallow of honey and drone brood I have the queenless hive.


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

You will get two colonies and you can let them both build up to a double to winter if that is your plan. Personally, I feed and get it done and then put on a super if there is still time. I have also put on an excluder and taken a crop off the single and then removed the excluder and added a second brood box and fed it full for winter stores. I think bees winter best on dark comb so I want the original brood box to end up on top..


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

You can do a walk away split. It will make the hive think they swarmed, Get another hive started, and still get a ton of honey.


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## K9-451 (Mar 5, 2015)

On Michael Bush's site it says that putting the split side by side is okay. Is there anything else, besides prayer, that I can use to aid the queenless hive? Thanks for all the help!


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

If you do a walk away the Queenless hive will have all the resources while the nuc has a queen to produce brood. The work force will continue to bring in stores. It makes for some extra lifting when doing inspections, But I generally add a supper after the split because the original hive really seem to bring in the stores.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

When you do a split the field bees tend to go back to the old location. So you can either have nothing at the old location and the new hives on each side of it, or you can shake extra bees into the colony at the new location to make up for the losses.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beessplits.htm#accountfordrift
http://www.bushfarms.com/beessplits.htm#howfar


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## K9-451 (Mar 5, 2015)

Thanks for the great info. I did the split on Sunday afternoon. I am going to check both hives today. If the queenless is light on bees, I will shake in some from the queen right hive. The temp is supposed to be 45 tonight, should I reduce the queenless hives entrance?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

> The temp is supposed to be 45 tonight, should I reduce the queenless hives entrance?

From the point of view of cold it is irrelevant unless it's going to be -45 F tonight...


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## K9-451 (Mar 5, 2015)

Thanks for the fast replies! I am having trouble posting pictures but I will try to figure out how to get it done from my phone.


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## K9-451 (Mar 5, 2015)

I checked the queenless hive today. Saw a few orientation flights and some activity. Got into the deep and pulled three frames. One was capped brood, one open honey and one more brood. I saw TWO queen cups! I think one had small larvae in it. That puts me and her around day 4-5 right?


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## scituatema (Aug 30, 2014)

Yes


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## K9-451 (Mar 5, 2015)

Marking my calendar! Seeing those queen cups eases my stress about this split a little. I even saw some workers with some pollen in there.


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## michkel (Dec 1, 2012)

K9-451 said:


> Thanks for the great info. I did the split on Sunday afternoon. I am going to check both hives today. If the queenless is light on bees, I will shake in some from the queen right hive. The temp is supposed to be 45 tonight, should I reduce the queenless hives entrance?


I split mine Sunday as well, my first split. I'll be gone this weekend but will be checking for queen cells when I get back. Both had fresh eggs, as I couldn't find the queen. I now know which box she is in by the activity of the hives. One is calm (the split) and one is very frenzied.


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## K9-451 (Mar 5, 2015)

Good luck with the split! After seeing those queen cells, I am going to try to leave them alone for a while.


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