Doubling my hives!

[italic63]

Good morning from Italy.
So after my first season of beekeeping with 1 hive(!) in looking to split this family and just wanted your views...
- the colony did not get off to a good start. Got them in April last year and May 13th swarmed so lost half plus weeks waiting for the new Queen to mate and start laying brood. Left them well alone so they could rebuild and sure enough a strong Queen emerged and laid strongly all through the summer. I treated for Varroa late November and so they went into the winter. Family now looking reasonably strong and Queen has begon laying again for a few weeks now.
Got zero honey of course last year but my priority was for them to survive their first winter.
Now I'd like to harvest a little this year but also keen to split the hive if strong enough so I'm not dependant on only 1 colony.
Any thoughts?
When would be the best time to split them?
Is it possible/advisable to split after the 1st honey harvest?
Any advice REALLY appreciated.
Thank you

 

[E&MBees]

I’m not very experienced, but there are a number of threads on here about raising a queen whilst maintaining numbers by performing a demarree. It might be worth having a look at those.

 

[italic63]

That's a great idea! Something new to read up on...looking forward to it. Thanks!.

 

[E&MBees]

That's a great idea! Something new to read up on...looking forward to it. Thanks!.

Do double check with the other more experienced members first. I wouldn’t want to give you the wrong information.

 

[italic63]

Yes of course. Don't worry. Thanks for the idea. I'll look into it and read up on it before acting.
It seems to makes sense though. Split the hive without splitting the honey stores.

 

[Boston Bees]

Good morning from Italy.
So after my first season of beekeeping with 1 hive(!) in looking to split this family and just wanted your views...
- the colony did not get off to a good start. Got them in April last year and May 13th swarmed so lost half plus weeks waiting for the new Queen to mate and start laying brood. Left them well alone so they could rebuild and sure enough a strong Queen emerged and laid strongly all through the summer. I treated for Varroa late November and so they went into the winter. Family now looking reasonably strong and Queen has begon laying again for a few weeks now.
Got zero honey of course last year but my priority was for them to survive their first winter.
Now I'd like to harvest a little this year but also keen to split the hive if strong enough so I'm not dependant on only 1 colony.
Any thoughts?
When would be the best time to split them?
Is it possible/advisable to split after the 1st honey harvest?
Any advice REALLY appreciated.
Thank you

You may decide just to work with the bees own instincts and let them determine when to split. Check them carefully every 6/7 days for swarm cells during spring. When you find them, use them to split the colony in two or even three.

 

[italic63]

Thanks for the reply. That was my initial thought too however I didn't want to disrupt the honey storage so demarree seemed like a good compromise. I would always look for queen cells first and the do the demarree si hopefully prevent swarming, not disrupt the honey storage and end up with two Queens.
What do you think?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Try this if you want to go down the Demarree line, but for newbie I'd suggest just doing a 'walkaway' split. Wait until the summer and the hive is bursting and just take a few frames with young brood and eggs in, a good few shakes of extra bees in and leave them sort themselves out.

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/demaree.46464/

 

[Boston Bees]

Thanks for the reply. That was my initial thought too however I didn't want to disrupt the honey storage so demarree seemed like a good compromise. I would always look for queen cells first and the do the demarree si hopefully prevent swarming, not disrupt the honey storage and end up with two Queens.
What do you think?

I have never tried a demaree so I am the wrong person to ask, but there are many threads on this forum relating to it, and here's a good start:

Demaree | Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum (beekeepingforum.co.uk)

I am not sure I would view it as a beginner's method, but as I say, I haven't tried it so what do I know!

 

[italic63]

Try this if you want to go down the Demarree line, but for newbie I'd suggest just doing a 'walkaway' split. Wait until the summer and the hive is bursting and just take a few frames with young brood and eggs in, a good few shakes of extra bees in and leave them sort themselves out.

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/demaree.46464/

Yes that does sound easier but I just didn't want to disrupt the honey harvesting. I would like to avoid a second year of no honey

 

[Boston Bees]

Yes that does sound easier but I just didn't want to disrupt the honey harvesting. I would like to avoid a second year of no honey

With only one hive, your priority is to avoid reaching the end of the year with no bees

 

[drex]

If you do a split of whatever sort, early enough, but when the bees tell you they are ready ( plenty of bees, a good bit of drone brood, even swarm cells), you WILL still end up with honey in your second year. Unless it is a really poor year and none of us get much of a crop.
I agree that priority is to increase numbers of hives