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Reasons for doing a split

● prevent swarms● get more hives● requeen a hive● get more honey● raise queens

Timing for doing a split● As soon as mated queens are

available for purchase, or as soon as drones are flying.

Concepts of Splits

Both old & new hives need:● Queen or the resources to make one

● Honey and pollen

● Nurse bees to tend brood– Older bees drift back to the original site

● Frames in proper order: brood together, honey & pollen to outside

“You can try to raise more bees or more honey.”

● Using a laying queen will shorten the time they are queenless. – Rearing a queen will take an average

of 24 days. – Introducing a queen will take an

average of 4 days. – Difference of three weeks.

● Letting them rear their own queen is more likely to get local acclimatized genetics, and possibly some survivor genes.

A Few Basic Splits

● Even split● Walk away split● Typical split● Cut down split● Demaree

There are many more ways to split hives—these are just a few.

Even Split ● You take half of everything and

divide it evenly– Keep the brood nest intact

● Place both new hives facing each other

Even Split – Returning bees aren't sure which

hive to come back to.● In a week or so, swap places to

equalize the drift to the one with the queen.

Walk Away Split ● frame of eggs● two frames emerging brood● two frames of pollen and honey● put them in a 5 frame nuc● Shake in some extra nurse bees (make sure

you don't get the queen)● Put the cover on and walk away.● Come back in four weeks and see if the

queen is laying (beware of laying workers/poorly mated queen).

Typical Split

● Same as the walk away, but you introduce a queen.

● They will be three weeks ahead of a hive that is raising their own queen, so you will have to start them in a larger box than a nuc.

Simplified Walk Away Split ● Take the top box off of a two box hive (or the

middle box from a three-box hive) in early spring when there are bees and brood in both boxes.

● Set it on bottom board with cover.

Simplified Walk Away Split

● Check in four weeks for a growing number of bees in both hives.

● Combine if there is no queen.

Demaree

Demaree● Take the queen and half the brood

and put below a double screen● Make sure there are no queen cells in

part with queen

Demaree

● Come back in four weeks and look for a queen in both

● Remove the double screen and replace with a queen excluder

● Bees in top are isolated, think they have lost their queen so they make a new one

Demaree● If you want more hives, allow

queenless box to raise queen

● If you don't want more hives, remove queen cells every 7 days and combine the two hives after swarm season

* The Demaree method can be a little difficult to understand—study up before attempting.

Demaree

Cut down split ● Timing is critical. It should be done about two

weeks before the main honey flow.

Concepts of a cut down: ● Old hive's bees are free to forage

because they have no brood to tend.

● Crowds the bees up into the supers to maximize them drawing comb and foraging.

● Will produce more honey in old hive.

● The new hive won't swarm because the

foragers all returned to the old hive.

● The old hive won't swarm because it doesn't have a queen--it will take at least six weeks for them to raise a queen and get a decent brood nest going.

What do I gain?● You get a lot of honey production from

the old hive because they are not busy caring for brood.

● You get the old hive requeened.

● You get another hive.

● If you let the old hive requeen itself you get a break in the brood cycle which will break the Varroa brood cycle as well.

Simplified Cut Down Split

● Take all but the bottom brood box off and put them on a new stand.

● Add supers to the original hive.

● Add a super to the new hive.

● Come back in four weeks and look for a good number of bees in each. Combine any weak hives with another hive.

Review of Splits

Both resulting colonies need:

● Queen or the resources to make one

● Supply of honey and pollen

● Plenty of bees “You can raise more bees or more honey.”

Reasons for doing a split

● prevent swarms● get more hives● requeen● get more honey● raise queens

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