Which artificial swarm should I use?

[Billydoc]

Hi,
I've just the one wooden national hive, they seem to be doing good with brood, etc, I'm hoping to split it into a poly nuc over the next few weeks, I am hoping to leave the original queen in the national hive for honey reasons but if it's best to move her I will, whats the best way to go about it? Or should I just move her into nuc when queen cells are present and let the national hive make their own queen?

 

[B+.]

Hi,
I've just the one wooden national hive, they seem to be doing good with brood, etc, I'm hoping to split it into a poly nuc over the next few weeks, I am hoping to leave the original queen in the national hive for honey reasons but if it's best to move her I will, whats the best way to go about it? Or should I just move her into nuc when queen cells are present and let the national hive make their own queen?

You could do something like this (https://youtu.be/Wm7RqXJD4_w?t=23m49s)

Just select a frame with eggs and young larvae. Put it in the middle of your poly box and put this on a floor on the site of the original hive. Place the existing hive ontop but facing in the other direction.
This will bleed foragers off your current hive (acting as a swarm control method) and they will return to the new box. Finding no queen there, they will set about making some queen cells with the eggs/larvae. After 9 days remove any sealed cells you don't want.

 

[Billydoc]

For this would I need an other brood box? I've only a poly Nuc and wooden Nuc at the minute.

 

[B+.]

For this would I need an other brood box? I've only a poly Nuc and wooden Nuc at the minute.

Are you talking about splitting a nuc? I thought you had a full hive which you wanted to split.
Be aware that splitting your colony does carry risks and will certainly reduce the honey yield.

 

[Billydoc]

Yeah I've a full national hoping to split, tell me if I'm wrong, do you mean just transfer over a frame of eggs and larve into poly and place the poly where the national was, all of foragers will go back to the new poly and will develop own queen. I was thinking of transferring over egg/larve/brood frames and let them make new queen but would the original still swarm?

 

[Erichalfbee]

The queen won't swarm if the colony has no foragers which is why you put the box requeening itself (the nuc) in the place the hive was and all the foragers will fly in there.
Except a nuc box is too small....you will need a full size hive

Have a look here
http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/swarmconnuc.html

 

[user 6228]

Mine! - bucket board sheet

 

[Billydoc]

So that Dave cushman method seems simple enough to split, or should I invest in a brood box and do it that way?

 

[B+.]

Except a nuc box is too small....you will need a full size hive

Absolutely right. Watch the video clip.

 

[Hachi]

So that Dave cushman method seems simple enough to split, or should I invest in a brood box and do it that way?

If you split and are not planning to re-unite then you will need another brood box this year.

 

[Millet]

Is that similar to a Demaree .

 

[Erichalfbee]

Absolutely right. Watch the video clip.

Millet beat me to it.....a Demarree

Cool weighing scales. I bet they cost a fortune