11/27/2023 0 Comments Bee hive split![]() ![]() Many beekeepers use this as a sign that a split should be performed. Bees tend to make swarm cells on the bottom of frames when they are outgrowing their space and are getting ready to swarm.One of these will likely have a new queen emerge and cut off some time before laying resumes since your bees won't have to start from scratch. If your original hive has swarm cells on the bottom of a frame, you may want to leave a few, if not all, of those in the now-queenless hive.Having the queen reside in this hive lets new eggs be laid starting on Day 1 while the older, likely more established hive has a few weeks of lag while replacing her. If you are not doing a true 50/50 split, your new hive may become weaker as a result.A period of brood break is also thought to help control the mite population to a small degree. ![]() The old hive then goes into a queen-rearing mode, and this period of brook break generally stops bees from wanting to swarm during the season.This mimics a swarm event as the queen and some bees have effectively left the old hive into a new one. The consensus is it is best to find the queen and move her into the new hive.There are a few key elements you should do to have the best chance of success here: The remaining bees could survive, rear a new queen, and regain the hive successfully- but many do not.Īs such, splitting a bee hive in anticipation of the start of a swarm event is a potential way to keep your bees within your hives, grow your apiary for free, and get them back to doing what they do best- making and storing honey! When this happens, the queen and a good chunk of your bees (could be half, could be almost all of them) leave your hive in search of more space. When bees come out of winter hibernation, they tend to outgrow their space and then become compelled to leave and find a new, larger home. While the above reasons may be considered optional, depending on your situation, this is likely necessary. Ultimately, most apiaries conduct splits as a swarm management technique. Another may be that you want to sell your own nucleus colonies to other beekeepers for profit. Another reason may be mite control as a hive becoming queenless interrupts the brood cycle, which could reduce your mite count to a degree. When done correctly, a split allows you to start a second hive in just a few simple steps.īut why would you maybe want to do this? Well, the obvious one, as noted above, is simply to start a second hive. The hive with the queen begins laying eggs to build a new colony while the now-queenless hive rears a new one to recover. This involves taking frames of eggs, larva, and capped brood, frames of honey and pollen, plus bees and the queen from an existing hive and moving them to a new one. A beehive split is simply taking one beehive and turning it into two.
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