Breaking up the cluster?

[Benton2569]

When is a good time to break up the cluster by switching out the hive bodies?

In this particular case it let one hive winter in 2 deeps and a medium honey super. I want reclaim the honey super before spring nectar flow but the bees are all up in there. My thought was to move the honey super above the inner cover, allowing the bees to take what stores they have in there. Temps here are still too cold here (mid 40's).

Thanks

[Michael Bush]

IMO, it's always too cold to break up the cluster by switching boxes:

http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm#stopswitching

But I definitely wouldn't do it when the nights are still in the 40s F.

[dcross]

Is the cluster entirely in the medium?

If so, you could put it on the bottom, then the deeps on top of it. When they're rearing brood in the deep(s), use a queen excluder to keep her out of the medium. Put it on top when the brood is gone.

If they have brood in two boxes, you don't want to split up the cluster though.

And I wouldn't put a QE in until the dandelions are blooming.

[Benton2569]

Dcross, I have not looked that closely to see where the bees are since the weather has been pretty chilly. I have noticed the bees clustering in the box (medium super in this case) but have not "inspected" anything due to the temps.

[sqkcrk]

I think I understand what Micheal is getting at, but if you don't look at the frames to see what brood is there you are going to run the risk of mistaking what looks like alot of bees and thinking that there is brood there too for a box of bees and little or no brood. I usually find MB's advice to be good, but I have split hives in the manner he suggests to come back a week later and find that I've wasted my time.

So, make sure that there really is brood in each box.

Along the lines of MB's suggestion of splitting a two story colony, what I do is to take a two story colony, make sure that there is approximatley equal amounts of brood and honey in each box, put a bottom board on the ground in front of the original colony, put one of the supers on it and cover it and cover the other half. Leave it alone fopr a week and then check both halves. The half w/ the queen cells in it doesn't have a live queen. Move the queen right half and let the other half finish raising it's own queen. I usually leave only one of the frames w/ queen cells on it and use the others (if there are any) in 4 or 5 frame nuc boxes.