[jimbo3]

Just harvested the honey, and man did they light me up. 10+ stings through my suit! Anyway, the hive is huge and the 2 deeps look pretty solid with honey and brood. Been somewhat aggressive the last couple of times I've checked it, but they produced fairly well.

Can I do a walk away split this late in the Connecticut season? Are the drones still flying much by the time a new queen hatches?

I'd like to get this population under control and hoping to perhaps cut down their aggression a little.

 

[JWPalmer]

I am still making walkaway splits 250 miles south of you. You can probably get by with a real strong walk away split, but this late you would be better off purchasing a mated queen. Maybe from more gentle stock?

 

[jimbo3]

Thanks. I thought of the new queen route, but I don't feel like spending any more money after buying mite treatment and frames and supers and bottom boards and covers and whatever the heck else I thought was a good idea putting on my credit card this year.

 

[JWPalmer]

Go for it. Worst that can happen is you get no or a poorly mated queen, in which case you recombine and wait til next spring.

 

[Steve in PA]

I would say too late or very close to being too late. If you made the split today, the queen wouldn't start laying until August 26. I'm not sure that would leave enough time for winter bees. At the same time the current forager force would dwindle just as they need to build up stores for winter and the new foragers wouldn't be ready until well into September.

 

[jimbo3]

I would say too late or very close to being too late. If you made the split today, the queen wouldn't start laying until August 26. I'm not sure that would leave enough time for winter bees. At the same time the current forager force would dwindle just as they need to build up stores for winter and the new foragers wouldn't be ready until well into September.

Yeah, I was just about to split today, but after being in the sun painting the hive parts I had no desire to suit up in this heat. I don't know how people in the south do it.

I got stung just shoveling in fill to set the cinder blocks on, so there's no way I'd split it without a suit.

Hopefully they don't swarm and I can split in the spring.

 

[JWPalmer]

People in the south work the bees in the morning and late evening. On most days, the hours from noon til five are out. I will be in the apiary around 8 tomorrow.
Regarding a split at this time, $35 for a queen doubles your chances of having at least one hive survive winter. A new nuc or package next year is a potential $200. Worth a little sweat, no?

 

[jimbo3]

Regarding a split at this time, $35 for a queen doubles your chances of having at least one hive survive winter. A new nuc or package next year is a potential $200. Worth a little sweat, no?

You're really not making this easy on me!

I'm not even certain I could find the queen.

 

[JWPalmer]

Simple, divide the hive in half, equally distributing bees, brood,drawn comb, and resources. Come back in a week with your mated queen in hand. Install her in the hive that does NOT have eggs. Destroy any queen cells in that hive and introduce the queen in her cage normally.

Time spent sweating, about 20 minutes.

Seriously though, there is no need to do a split if you are not ready. Next spring will give you a very high probability of success.

 

[Michael Palmer]

In my opinion, it's too late. Too late even if you add a mated queen.

 

[Saltybee]

thought I would start my day by spitting into the wind.

Wonder if the answers would be different if the question was: Is it too late to requeen in CT?

What is the best way this late?

 

[Jack Grimshaw]

Are you willing to buy a Q?
Do you have 10 frames of drawn comb?
Do you have a 5x5 nuc setup?
Can your hive spare 3 fr of capped brood?
Do you have a good fall flow?
Are you willing to feed a good pollen sub and syrup?
Are you willing to insulate top ,sides and back and wrap with 15 l,b tar paper and over winter in a protected location?
Can you afford to lose it?

 

[Michael Palmer]

Is it too late to requeen in CT?

What is the best way this late?

Not too late to requeen. Now and into the autumn flow is a good time. We’re just finishing our requeening here. Mostly use push in cages. Pulling the last cages this coming week.

 

[unstunghero]

Just harvested the honey, and man did they light me up. 10+ stings through my suit! Anyway, the hive is huge and the 2 deeps look pretty solid with honey and brood. Been somewhat aggressive the last couple of times I've checked it, but they produced fairly well.

Can I do a walk away split this late in the Connecticut season? Are the drones still flying much by the time a new queen hatches?

I'd like to get this population under control and hoping to perhaps cut down their aggression a little.

It sounds like a normal colony that you upset while harvesting. You could probably just wait until spring and when you see drones do your split.

 

[JimD]

I did the same thing about this time last year down south and no problem. Is it too late? Think for 30? dollars you save a month of time if you have to wait for the queen to hatch and mate and by then it could be late.
I split mine one day and drove up and got a Beeweaver queen and put her in the next after noon and she was out and laying when I checked later in the year. I did pour on the feed with the dearth setting and and off they went. The queen was not as good as my Baton Rogue queen.

You have "mother in law" bees this hive did that this spring till they swarmed then back to calm bees. Why? To work them I had oilfield coveralls on legs taped and my old heavy 1960's bee gloves over shirt and jeans. Smoke them and all but when you opened the box you were immediately hit with 20-40 bees stinging. The gloves looked spotted from the star with the stingers and they did not quit. 70 Yards to my back door and there would be 50+ still following and trying to sting.

Funny from that hive and bee weaver queens being small and dark I had a big yellow queen hatch out and from Her I got another small dark queen on a split as I kept messing with the hive. Both offspring hives were very calm bees after the swarm and back to fishing shirt and cheap jacket and you could get by without but I hate bees in my fame wearing glasses.

I keep my two hives so my friend loved it when I gave him the other two good hives for free.