Splitting the brood

[ickyfritz]

Hey folks, I was just considering something I've heard from several sources regarding splitting the brood. Most everything I've heard indicates that whether you're reversing boxes/supers (I run all mediums) or adding... you should never split the brood. I think the rationale was that it was harder for the bees to cover the brood when split apart. Is this only an early springtime guideline or would it apply to summer brood as well? I'm thinking of this a temperature concern rather than a spatial concern and wondering if the thinking is flawed. Thanks.

[Bradley_Bee]

Splitting the brood can mean a few different things. For instance. If your splitting the brood above a super, the hive may not be able to recognize it as the same hive, The pheromones may not be strong enough. So they may raise a queen cell off the split brood.
But yeah you never want to raise brood out of the brood chamber in the winter time when the bees are still clustering. However, i move my brood around quite a bit if their brood chamber is a double chamber - mostly for making swarms in the early spring. You generally want to leave frames in the same pattern the bees have decided for them but you gotta understand that bees need room. Raise a frame of brood and put an empty in its place. you just could prevent swarming for a time.

[Oldtimer]

If there are enough bees to comfortably cover the "gap" you have left between the brood you have split, you are safe. If not it's too early to split.