The Olympia beekeeper who submitted the photos of splitting a Langstroth with a Taranov board, Dave Hurd, sent in some details based on reader questions. He did a nice job explaining his method, so I’m presenting it as today’s post. Once again thanks, Dave, for all your input and your great photos. Rusty HoneyBeeSuite I […] Read more
A beekeeper here in Olympia, Dave Hurd, sent me the following photos of splitting a hive with a Taranov board. His design for the ramp is slightly different than my own but the principle is the same. Because he split a Langstroth rather than a top-bar hive, I thought you might enjoy seeing his photos. […] Read more
I recognized the cacophony coming from my top-bar hive. The insistent roar told me those bees were ready to swarm. They were milling about, climbing up the sides of the hive, flying but not foraging. I had just returned from a week on the road and didn’t feel like messing with bees, but they were […] Read more
The overnight split is a good choice if you are unable to find your queen but you want to know where she is after the split is complete. The downside is that it takes two days to complete. Here are the basic steps: Prepare a new brood box to hold the split. The new brood […] Read more
I’ve described many types of splits in the past, including: Walkaway splits Swarm control splits Cut-down splits Shook swarm splits But now, of course, someone wants to know about Mississippi splits. I have to say, I just love that phrase. It has rhythm. To me it sounds like a dance, an ice skating trick, or […] Read more
A cut-down split is a special technique often used by comb honey producers. The purpose of a cut-down split is to maximize the number of foragers that are bringing in nectar by minimizing the amount of brood a colony has to care for. With little brood to feed, foragers concentrate on bringing home nectar rather […] Read more