Two Packages on the Way

[Jim Williamson]

I'll be receiving two 3-lbs packages on April 17, along with 4 additional queens. These are to be installed in a bee yard currently supporting 5 2-deep colonies that have over-wintered quite well and, with the exception of this bitter cold weather we've had recently (52F), have put away quite a bit of pollen and nectar. I requeened all five colonies last fall.

Plan A is to split the two packages into 4 nucs (1.5 lbs bees each), install queens and supplement some capped brood and stores from existing hives. With the remaining two queens, I can take a few frames of bees, brood, and stores and start up two more nucs. I have 5-frame nuc boxes built and ready to go (I got bored over the winter).

Plan B is to install the 3-lbs packages "as is" in nucs and split the strongest 4 existing colonies with the new queens and put a new deep with foundation on top of each.

Which plan would you go with? I want my bread honeyed on both sides -- yield and increase. Immediate gratification NOW!

[wayacoyote]

Jim,
I'd be inclined to go with plan B... but that's said without seeing your hives or setup. With good strong hives, it is about time to be making splits. In fact, Michael has taught me about cut-down splits. I'll let him elaborate. But your flow should be on or pending by then.

As for the "new deep with foundation on top of each", I might also be inclined to keep it slow. Of couse, I'm drawing small-cell, so I want them to work methodically rather than rushing it and botching it. But I'm also concerned about giving them too much space to manage. Once they've got their new setup filled fairly well in 1-hive body, then I would move on to the second one.

I like your tag line; you should send that to me as a bumper sticker. Then maybe my mom would quit trying to set me up. ;)

Waya

[sugar bandit #2]

Here is something I'm going to try / experiment to divide some new packages this spring.
When putting together a couple of medium boxes I dadoed a channel in the middle to divide in 1/2. I used a shimmed 3/8" flat bottom. The divider sticks up about 1/4" and each box half has its own little inner cover to keep the bees in each 1/2 separate.
Drilled 2- 1" holes on each opposite side. The top holes are screened for ventilation and bottom holes are for entrances. I have a couple screened holes on the bottom (each 1/2) as I want to place this double nuc medium over a top inner feeder box of one of my overwintered colonies.
I'm hoping this will help incubate the double nuc medium without too much bee comunicating on the bottom as the top feeder on the overwintered colony will kind of separate the two and still provide a little heat.
Not sure how well it will work but wanted to try something to keep the packages warm as April in Indiana is kind of unpredictable.

[Michael Bush]

I don't know when your main flow is, but if you can time it with the flow, you can steal as much open brood from your existing hives as your packages can manage and that will increase your honey harvest.

[Jim Williamson]

Thanks, Michael. What do you think of splitting the 2 3-lbs packages into four nucs using the extra queens and supplementing each with open brood as you described? I suppose I could shake in some nurse bees to boost the population enough to support the open brood. Although, I'm not certain how much open brood 1-1/2 lbs of bees can support. I may be making this more difficult than it should be (par on my home course).

[Michael Bush]

1 1/2 pounds of bees in a very small box (about two or three frames) can take care of a frame of brood if you give them a frame of honey/pollen.

In a large box they will struggle for the first month or so.