All kinds of splits
In simplest terms, a split is made by dividing an existing colony into two or more parts. Many variations exist. In fact, the methods of making splits—and the reasons for making them—are as varied as the beekeepers who do them.
The most common reasons for making splits are to:
- create more colonies
- produce nucs
- raise queens
- prevent swarms
- control mites
Split basics
While there are many different ways to do a split, you must follow of a number of guidelines if you expect success.
- Use overwintered colonies. A brand new colony from a nuc or package does not have the resources needed for a good split.
- Use strong colonies. If you split a weak colony, you get even weaker ones—if any. The larger the colony, the better your chance of success.
- A split will need a queen provided for it or it must be able to produce a queen.
- If you expect a split to produce a queen, drones must be available in the area. The more drones actively flying, the better.
- If you expect a split to produce a queen, it must also have fresh eggs or newly hatched larvae, plenty of nurse bees, pollen, and honey.
- The brood nest of a split must imitate a normal nest structure—worker brood in the center, drone brood on the outer edges of the worker brood, pollen on both sides of the nest, and honey on both sides of the pollen. If you don’t have plenty of honey frames, you will need to feed.
- A split needs protection from robbers in the form of a reduced entrance or robbing screen.
Splits don’t always work
Even when you do everything right, a split won’t always succeed. If after a few days, there is no sign of queen rearing, you will need to add more fresh eggs or newly hatched larvae. If it fails a second time, it is best to recombine the split with another hive.
The easiest type of split is made by using a double-chambered hive where the brood nest spans the two brood boxes. The beekeeper simply takes off the top box and puts it on its own bottom board, adds a lid, and walks away.
But even that simple form of split requires some attention for success, especially if you don’t know where the queen is:
- If you don’t know where the queen is, make sure both boxes have ample supplies of fresh eggs or newly hatched larvae.
- Make sure both boxes have honey, pollen, and lots of nurse bees. If you don’t have lots of honey, be sure to feed.
- Make sure the entrances are reduced.
Additional considerations
Finally, here are some additional considerations, regardless of the type of split you make:
- When splitting the hive and dividing resources, concentrate on the number of nurse bees, not the number of foragers. If you are splitting within your own apiary (or within a two-mile radius of it) the foragers will return to their original hive location. Try to ignore these foragers and concentrate on the number of nurse bees that will be in each split. The nurses are the key to making the split work.
- You can put splits side-by-side, no problem. Just remember that for a long time, the part without a queen will look like no one is home. Gradually, as nurses become foragers, the discrepancy will decrease. Don’t let the number of foragers in one part freak you out. If the split is raising a queen, everything is working according to plan.
- Remember to provide adequate honey (or syrup) and pollen (or pollen supplement), especially to the part with few foragers. Since that part doesn’t have a workforce collecting materials from the field, it may need extra supplies to raise that first batch of brood.
Even though it sounds complex, don’t be afraid to try this. It works amazingly well, allowing you to both increase the number of hives and raise your own local queens. Below you will find links to several different types of splits and how to make them.
Making different kinds of splits
Here are several different types of splits, with only minor variations:
- Create an Artificial Swarm with a Taranov Split
- Honey bees have their own agenda
- Although we worry, honey bees are built to last
- Booklet review | Splits and Varroa
- Taranov split in photos
- The “tear ’em off” split
- A Taranov in time
- A toast to Taranov and his split
- Details of the Taranov split
- Another take on Taranov
- The great divide: a Taranov split
- How to make a vertical split
- How to make a simple split
- How to make an overnight split
- Doing the Mississippi splits
- Splitting the top-bar hive with a shook swarm
- How to make a cut-down split
- How to make a walkaway split to build more colonies
- How to start multiple hives from a swarm-control split
- How to make a swarm-control split
- How to prevent swarming with a Taranov board
- A walkaway split and the tiniest queen