Looking for people in the south that have kept and routinely split resource hives. I know they're used in the north a lot to over winter nucs, but I haven't been able to find any videos of people utilizing them in the south. What are your experiences and what are some of your maintenance practices in growing/maintaining your colonies utilizing these.
Resource Hives in the South
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The Michael Palmer style resource hives are not needed in the South due to our much milder winters. In TN, you should have no problem overwintering in a single deep 5 frame nuc. For comb and bee production, a five over five setup works well. I just hived a resource nuc that was 3 mediums over a deep. In two months the bees drew out or repaired all the frames and had it well stocked with nectar and pollen. They are now in a medium over deep 10 frame with the extra medium frames down in the deep for now. Will be pulling the five deep frames soon for a split.
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I’m not sure if it is considered a resource hive, but I have a single 10-frame deep that is partitioned off into three 3-frame hives with a separate side entrance for each hive. When I have extra swarm cells in the spring, I can raise 3 extra queens for when I need to requeen a big hive in a hurry. Those that I don’t use, I can usually sell them quickly.
Ryan
Ryan
Even farther north, near Chicago, 5-frame deeps seem to work for overwintering. At least they did this last, fairly mild winter.
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LOL Been calling that my resource hive this whole time. I need to increase my vocabulary.
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