splitting

[sean]

hi, i am doing some splits in the week and my question is what isthe minimum distance that i can set up the new hives with worrying that the bees will go back into the original boxes.

would taking say 3 frames from the existing hives be sufficient

[pembroke]

Did a split in fall because of varrow mite. Removed all capped brood from already large hive and made 1 new hive with just one deep body and one shallow. Turned new hive to the south while the original faced east [about 3 feet away] . Now I have two nice hives ready for spring. I've heard that you should move them farther than that but...............  Just my experience [not much]. Pembroke

[Kirk-o]

Hey Buddy go to Michael Bush's web page and read about splits you will be glad you did
he has worked it out and written it down check it out
kirko

[Finsky]

hi, i am doing some splits in the week and my question is what isthe minimum distance that i can set up the new hives with worrying that the bees will go back into the original boxes.

would taking say 3 frames from the existing hives be sufficient

When you live in Jamaica, it is same when you make a split or nuc.

Take in the evening a frame where bees have emerged in the centre and  alot of bees are emerging in circle. Make 3 frame nuc and restrict the room for 3 frame. Give a rich pollen frame, honey and brood frame into the hive. You make take another frame of emerging bees if that is enough what you get.

All bees which have oriented in old hive will return to old site. But those which emerge in new nuc, know only their new place.
One problem is that returning bees begin to rob that new nuc.

One way is to make a nuc over another hive. Shake all bees away, give to nuc new queen and put couople of frames emerging brood. Close the nuc that no bee can go out or go in.  After 2-3 days you have a nuc and new bees.

If you have another place 2 miles away, the most simple way is take some frame swith bees, carry them to new place and start nucs. This is absolutly best way. In this case nuc will have all age of bees and queen start to lay soon. In emerging brood cases hive will be lack of foragers.

[Joel]

When we do our spring nucs we mark the location of the original hive entrance using a stick and then move the hive back about 2/1/2 feet.  The placing the nucs equal distance from the orginal entrance location I divide place 2 or 3 brood frames (depending on 3 or 4 framed splits) equally making certain everone gets eggs and brood in all stages.  Then I add a frame of honey and one of foundation.  After removing the orginal hive and adding caged queens to the nucs I watch the bees which are now reorienting to the nucs and adjust the distance so the bees are re-entering the nucs equally and within a distance of 2 feet of the orginal location. This equalizes the field force and makes the nucs much more balanced.  After the nucs have had a couple of weeks to build up we migrate them north.  Someone with a stationary yard could easily move the nucs 2 miles after a day or so and then move them back within the same time period.  This makes for good equal splits and since everyone had eggs at the start a quick indication (queen cells)if queen acceptance goes wrong.

[sean]

dont have the facility of moving them the two or three miles away at this time but i will be setting up a little distance away. i am creating about 12 new colonies. thanks for the advice

[Michael Bush]

Of course, if you can, moving them 2 miles will make them not fly back.  I've never done it, because I've never had that convenience.  Instead I shake in twice as many bees as I want (from brood comb) to account for the drift.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beessplits.htm

[Finsky]

When you make splits, take care that the nuc have brood at least a little in the hive. Otherwise bees go out and seek chosty place in next door.

Another thing is that it is good to stabilize the nuc before yu put new queen there. Bees become restless and queen escaper from nuc too.

[Finsky]

I took into use only 2 years ago a new method. I raise queens in the hive which is going to swarm. I change larvae in queen cells and I take new small larvae from good hive.

When queen cells are near emerging I devide the hive into 2-frame nucs and I put queen cell in each nuc. Then I take these all to some of my distant yard. In each nuc should be brood piece that bees do not become nervous.

Last summer I made 12 splits from one hive. When queens were mated I gived them emerging bee frames and nucs started without losses. To give new queen to nucs is often laborous job and there is many losses in process.

When yield is over, you may split a big hive into two parts or more and then join the small nuc into bigger unit. So you have 2 normal hive in new start.

[Kirk-o]

What Interesting Data you guys are really smar
kirko