Opinion on splits

[Barhopper]

What are y?all?s opinions on how long to move a split. I split 8 hives today and moved them 20+ miles but I want to
move them back to where the parent hives are to utilize the strong willow flow currently happening there. I was thinking 4 days. What are the opinions of how long so they don?t go back to the parent hive?

[BeeMaster2]

Most say 3 weeks, length of time the field bees are flying. At 4 days you may have a significant amount of drifting of the field bees to the old hives. As they return home from field trips they will naturally be flying the old route they were familiar with before moving.
Jim Altmiller

[van from Arkansas]

Jim, or anyone else, would it work sooner if the parent hives were moved from their original location.  I am talking moving the parent hives say 20 feet or so, then bring back the splits moved 2 miles?

I don?t know, understand I am asking.

Van

[BeeMaster2]

Yes and they would not have to bee moved very far. When the split field bees return to the old location and there is not a hive there they will revert back to the last location that they oriented to.
Jim Altmiller

[Barhopper]

Thanks for the replies. I was worried it might be longer than I can afford to wait. I?m planning to move them at night and positioning them on a different part of the property but it?s only 10 acres. I guess I?ll be able to report back on what happens.

[jtcmedic]

Bar could you just grass in the entrance so it forces them to Reorient?

[BeeMaster2]

JT,
Even if they re-orient, when they are in familiar territory, they will return to their old location.
In your situation, you can just shake more nurse bees from brood frames when making the splits. Nurse bees will become the field bees and will orient to the new location naturally.
Jim Altmiller

[Barhopper]

I?m hoping moving them at night and face the entrance direction 180 degrees from their former direction will give them a different view when they fly out in the morning. We made them strong with a lot of capped brood so I guess we?ll see.

[BeeMaster2]

How far from your other hives are you going to place them?
Jim Altmiller

[Barhopper]

About 100 yards

[jtcmedic]

I?m hoping moving them at night and face the entrance direction 180 degrees from their former direction will give them a different view when they fly out in the morning. We made them strong with a lot of capped brood so I guess we?ll see.

that how I?m doing mine.

[jtcmedic]

JT,
Even if they re-orient, when they are in familiar territory, they will return to their old location.
In your situation, you can just shake more nurse bees from brood frames when making the splits. Nurse bees will become the field bees and will orient to the new location naturally.
Jim Altmiller

Jim what if you switch the split with the parent hive for 2 weeks then switch them back?

[Oldbeavo]

Barhopper
Did you put a queen or cell in the split?
Just a thought, not the solution and open for opinion, if the split has a queen then if you bring it back and place it beside the original hive , then will the bees orientate to the position and return to the smell of their queen and so end up in the right hive.
Bees on pallets, some times 4, with little differentiation between boxes end up in the right hive, by smell?

[Barhopper]

Queens in the splits. That?s a possibility.

[BeeMaster2]

JT,
Even if they re-orient, when they are in familiar territory, they will return to their old location.
In your situation, you can just shake more nurse bees from brood frames when making the splits. Nurse bees will become the field bees and will orient to the new location naturally.
Jim Altmiller

Jim what if you switch the split with the parent hive for 2 weeks then switch them back?

That will help a lot. The field bees will return to the splits. I don?t know why you would swap them a second time.
Jim Altmiller

[cao]

What are y?all?s opinions on how long to move a split. I split 8 hives today and moved them 20+ miles but I want to
move them back to where the parent hives are to utilize the strong willow flow currently happening there. I was thinking 4 days. What are the opinions of how long so they don?t go back to the parent hive?

I just make sure I have plenty of nurse bees in the split and set them in the place where the are gonna stay.  Sometimes it is right next to the parent hive.  I don't move them at all.

[Oldbeavo]

Barhopper
We will often put a purchased queen cell in a split.
One to speed up the process, second to improve the genetics of the apiary.
We also have purchased 30 queens but run out of hives to requeen, so will make some nucs and put the queen in to keep her for future use in a dud hive.

[Barhopper]

I split the queens into Nucs then sell those. I let the big hives grow new queens. Works well for me during the willow flow. If I left them they?d swarm without a lot of manipulations.

[CoolBees]

I split the queens into Nucs then sell those. I let the big hives grow new queens. Works week for me during the willow flow. If I left them they?d swarm without a lot of manipulations.

Thats good advice. Thanks.

[jtcmedic]

I split the queens into Nucs then sell those. I let the big hives grow new queens. Works week for me during the willow flow. If I left them they?d swarm without a lot of manipulations.

Just started doing this last fall, letting the strong hive(cell builder ) do all the work. I makes a better queen I feel. My goal is to sell my extras after I get my goal hives