assuming i can steal the honey super easily today i am going to split the hive i take it off of...the idea is to have them raise their own queen which i then will use to requeen my weak hive by combining the two.
i built a nuc but now i'm concerned about how hot its likely to become inside the nuc.
is this something i should be concerned about? i have a solid BB and the entrance will be reduced. i am using a migratory lid.
Unless they are jammed packed with bees, they should be OK. I have taken a couple nucs and cut part of the bottoms out and put screen over it. Kinda made SBB out of them. Now a days I just drill 2 1" holes about an inch or two below the frame rest on each end and put metal screen over them. I mostly use 1/2" hole entrances on the bottom. With the bigger screened openings on top, it allows for air circulation, but perhaps more importantly distracts robbers from the real entrance.
when they become jam packed with bees i'll move them to permanent quarters. thanks Rob.
ok...i finally did my first split. the girls were not happy with it but i was well protected and no stings.
there are some bees hanging around the nuc so i still have a piece of hardware cloth closing up the entrance.
i guess i'll remove this later. i tried very hard to see eggs but my glasses were kinda fogged up. one of the frames i move to the nuc had a swarm cell on it so there may be a queen pretty soon. i also tried to be sure that i didn't take the old monarch to the nuc and checked each frame i moved. again, wearing glasses is annoying.
the best part is that i got a very full medium box of honey. so this is the second medium of honey off this hive.
any comments/advice/criticism is encouraged.