When to split?

[JBees]

After hiving a new package this spring would you split next spring and how would you know if you should?

[Michael Bush]

They should be strong enough to split:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beessplits.htm#earlysplit

And it should be early enough that they still have time to build up:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beessplits.htm#howlateplits

[Michael B]

There is no set rule on when to split. Typically start up packages need a full season to become stong enough and have the resources to share with the split.

In 2011 I split 2 start up packages in June and I had 1 package swarm in June. The spring build up was very fast and the nector flow was very strong. Both the mother hive and the split did fine. The splits filled two 10 frames deeps.

I really depends on the bees, weather, and available forage and they will tell you when it is time to split.

[JBees]

Thank you Michael and Michae B for the help.

[jbeshearse]

When queens are available for purchase, if you are buying queens.

When mature drones are present, when raising their own queens.

[mmiller]

When queens are available for purchase, if you are buying queens.

When mature drones are present, when raising their own queens.

Very simply put and pretty accurate.

Mike

[JBees]

Hi Michael. I was finally able to access your website. Thanx for the reference. My fire wall was preventing me in getting on. I appreciate all your help and the help of others in our hobby.

[New Ky Beekeeper]

This spring I plan to split in late April. However, I want to wait until late June in 2013 to allow the bees to harvest more honey.

[JBees]

Thank you all for the great information.

[Michael Bush]

>My fire wall was preventing me in getting on.

Kind of odd. There is no active content, just plain html...

[hilreal]

I take the clue from mother nature, when bees are swarming (natural splitting) in my area, that is the time to do splits. Forcing them too far in either direction, early or later, presents challenges and risks.

[JBees]

Must be my computer. Sometimes I get on sometimes I don't. Time for a new computer.

[Adamd]

When there are drones flying of course which will usually mean there are plenty of bees.

If you see queencells then that's a good time too!

[Joseph Clemens]

Since I've become an active queen raiser, I create Nucs and other splits almost anytime. This past season, after our devastating record freezes in the Winter of 2010-2011, I only had ten full-size hives and two Nucs surviving, one Nuc being the home of my, then reigning, Mother Queen. I carefully worked to raise queens and build up as many full-size hives, and Nucs, as quickly as I could. Most of the customers that had inquired about queens and Nucs for that season, did not wait for me (it wasn't until June or later that I had built up enough to have any Nucs and queens available), but I did begin selling a few Nucs and queens, and despite starting the season with very few colonies, and one MQ, I was able to sell a few and still end the season with eighteen full-size colonies and more than forty Nucs.

Due to the nature of bees, and robbing, I've lost five or six Nucs this Winter, but out of the other full-size hives and Nucs, I've continued to create a few more, to replace some of those that were lost.