Splitting Hive this year?

[felixflyer]

Hi

I am a first year beekeeper. My hive has gone well and I have just harvested 1 super. I have a queen laying well, plenty of stores in the brood and another super filing up.

I would like to split my colony by keeping my hive and adding two more in nucs that can overwinter and go into hives next spring.

Is this feasible to do this year or would I be best waiting for spring?

What would be the best process? I was thinking of moving the hive and replacing with 2 nucs to catch the flying bees then adding queens. I would need to try and breed these queens too. Am I going to have time? I am in south Kent and using poly hives/nucs.


Regards

 

[bingevader]

If it was me, I'd leave it until the spring and do a preemptive split then.
Even then, I'd only look to split into two.
I wouldn't expect to turn one colony into three.

 

[thorn]

If it was me, I'd leave it until the spring and do a preemptive split then.
Even then, I'd only look to split into two.
I wouldn't expect to turn one colony into three.

Agreed. Why go into the winter with three weaker colonies?

 

[Murox]

Might be an idea to use their strength to draw all the foundation ready for splits next season as you have already taken off one super and they have good stores now.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Just make sure this one colony goes into winter strong, gain a bit more experience/knowledge then attempt a split.
Learn to walk before you try running

 

[felixflyer]

OK, sounds like good advice and i'll wait until next year.

Thanks

 

[maz0]

As I found out this spring, get a strong colony through the winter and you wont need to worry about splits...the splits will come to you, whether you like it or not!

Murox is spot on, get comb drawn, its a big problem when you need to split and have no drawn comb/stores/brood to set the new hive up with, and make sure you have enough equipment to handle them, full hives, feeders, queen excluders etc....1 minute your waiting for them to come out of winter, next minute your spinning plates.

 

[Millet]

Wait till next year IMO..especially if the bees have only given you one super this year..

 

[Spanker]

how wood you do this with brood comb ?replace existing brood with foundation?
what do you do with the brood you remove.
or do you place another brood box on and fill with foundation.

Im thinking of doing the same as one of hives is bursting at the moment but didnt want to split it coming to the end of the season.

thanks

 

[Murox]

how wood you do this with brood comb ?replace existing brood with foundation?
what do you do with the brood you remove.
or do you place another brood box on and fill with foundation.

Im thinking of doing the same as one of hives is bursting at the moment but didnt want to split it coming to the end of the season.

thanks

Foundation is only drawn with a flow – real or artificial.
For brood and/or supers. - you can fill a box with foundation placed over queen excluder during a flow. When the combs have been drawn, filled and ripened they can be carefully extracted and stored for use as replacement combs. Or if sugar syrup is stored in these newly drawn combs it can be kept for feed in the winter - or put in the freezer and used in nucs etc next spring.

 

[Ian123]

Simple method for splitting leave the old queen in the original position with a couple of frames of brood with bees on move the remaining colony to another position. All flying bees will return to original spot and old queen carries on laying. You can then split the queen less box into whatever you judge is best and you are introducing queens to young bees.

 

[Spanker]

Foundation is only drawn with a flow – real or artificial.
For brood and/or supers. - you can fill a box with foundation placed over queen excluder during a flow. When the combs have been drawn, filled and ripened they can be carefully extracted and stored for use as replacement combs. Or if sugar syrup is stored in these newly drawn combs it can be kept for feed in the winter - or put in the freezer and used in nucs etc next spring.

so at the moment it has 2 supers on hopefully remove these next week or so, then i could put another brood box above the QE with foundation for the bees to clear into and draw out. should i feed them or just put the wet supers back on above?

 

[Murox]

so at the moment it has 2 supers on hopefully remove these next week or so, then i could put another brood box above the QE with foundation for the bees to clear into and draw out. should i feed them or just put the wet supers back on above?

Yes give them the 'wet' supers, personally I would feed as well, but it depends on available natural forage, weather, location and the vitality of the bees themselves and of course wether or not you want sugar syrup in the hive right now.

 

[SWEET]

I am a first year beekeeper.

Getting a hive through winter first year is a challenge in its own right, feeding can be a tricky balance mixed with medications and all the other factors.

Maybe split in spring, it comes around faster each year (when beekeeping). Did a ton of reading before creating my first Nuc, maybe winters the ideal time.

I'm considering breeding queens next year (my 4th) but its a very big if seeing how a locally mated queen turned out (very nasty).