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The original one by @jenkinsbrynmair has a Qx to allow bees to pass through. I put mesh over that when I do a vertical split. I am sure JBM has posted photos of these but can't find them. He is tagged to this message so will pick it up...when he gets out of bed 🤣

Sorry if it has been covered in the other 19 responses but I don't see the logic in what you have done. You either split equally in 2 nucs or hives with 1 QC in each or you leave them in the same hive and leave only 1 Qc (opened one) and come back in another 4 days to remove any new ones they...

would work but seems to be a bit of a faff.

yes, you don't want to do less than 2 weeks before re-uniting and must ensure the flyers can't find their way back to the queen or they will swarm.

Yes, I use it. B+ had shared a video and they used it within. Will try to find it on YouTube. You must put the supers above the bottom box though not the top box as all your flyers go back to the original box down the bottom and carry on gathering. My set up is as follows: new BB with 1...

Last year I said I was going to cut down and today I have set up a new apiary. When will I learn!! I have moved hives and nucs around and done 80% of my uniting. I had around 15 nucs going through the winter which I wanted to use to clear out poor stock.

Metal is used to add weight as well...although I still put half breeze block on my hives 🤣

All works well until you miss a 2nd queen cell in the original colony and they all bugger off with the first virgin 😂 I also mostly use the nuc method and wasn't aware of Pete's variation which I will look at. If they have made any attempt to swarm though I won't use this line and will give...

I use sulphur and never had a problem with wax moth

Finally managed to get 1 apiary sorted. United a few hives, houses dble nucs in their own hives, added a cple of supers and set up a new apiary ready to shift a few hives around.

A strong colony then who would dispatch any intruding queen. You don't want to run the risk of letting them battling it out if there is one.

Maybe she was falling and died within the last couple of days? Can you reduce to 1 box and put a Qx vertically in between the 4 frames? I have cut one out which I use to restrict queen movement when needed.

I have opened a few hives but nothing much. No break in the weather here. Blustery, rainy, and cold. I might bite the bullet Friday with a calmer day and 13c. I also have quite a lot of uniting to do!

@NickM , you can say goodbye to your new queen in the bottom box. Introducing a new queen to an older angry workforce is a guaranteed death sentence regardless of the frame of emerging brood. Personally I would cage the queen with a push in cage and in 5 days when there is no more viable larvae...

I am tight, I don't fill it to the top .🤣🤣

they have plenty of cash down that way!!

I sell my 1.2kg tub at £16 compared to my 340gr at £6. My 1.2kg tubs are mostly for people cooking with it (I have a couple of cafes on the books) so they don't get the prenium honey, i.e. they don't mind if it is the bottom of the buckets.

That was my understanding also and the first orientation flight they take will not 'mark the entrance' as such. If you are going to go to all that effort to requeen, you may as well put the frame in the original box with a balanced workforce which will guarantee better qcs...so long as they only...

You don't get any nurse bees that way though, it's only your flyers which will return through the original entrance or is your frame of eggs from the nice queen transferred with bees on?

Yes at this time of the year I tend to requeen by restricting the nasty queen so she cannot lay (I bought a frame cage or use a push in cage)and either put a graft in or frame from a chosen colony. I will usually leave 3-4 good cells and split when they are close to emerging. With the weather we...