Possible hive split!

Heather Knox

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Apr 21, 2025, 12:01:24 PMApr 21

to mad...@googlegroups.com, Ellen Weaver

Hi all!

My hives survived the winter. I speculating that my older hive may need to split, but I don’t know how to do it. I’m hoping to crack it open tomorrow afternoon and see the condition/if there are Queen cells.

If she needs to split, would anyone like to come & teach me how? The payment would be to take the split! They are Russians, but I think they’re delightful and am not experiencing overt aggression from them.

Holler if you are interested. I am asking for experienced keepers, versed in this process. Thanks so much!

H

Heather Knox (she/her)

Senior Graphic Designer/Art Director

__________________________________________
P: 608.332.3074 | hest...@gmail.com | Portfolio

John Thompson

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Apr 21, 2025, 12:03:46 PMApr 21

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Where are you located?

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Tom Borchardt

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Apr 21, 2025, 1:13:39 PMApr 21

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I would gladly take the split after helping.

Tom B

On Mon, Apr 21, 2025, 11:01 AM Heather Knox <hest...@gmail.com> wrote:

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Joseph Bessetti

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Apr 21, 2025, 1:44:15 PMApr 21

to mad...@googlegroups.com, Ellen Weaver

Hi Heather,

We have 20 VSH queens on order for late May for the club apiary. We have a few hives that we will split there, but I'm also actively seeking club members with overwintered bees to populate some of those nucs.

As a group, we will introduce the queens, check them for laying pattern, and then later in the summer we will assay some of them for VSH expression.

It sounds like you don't need a second hive, but perhaps you'd be interested in a new young queen for the new season? Or, there will almost certainly be someone in the club who is participating and does need a new start. Let me know if this sounds like something you would want to participate in.

Unless your bees are really crowded in a relatively small hive, it is probably unlikely that they will have swarm cells right now. I recommend that you inspect them and get a rough count on how many frames of capped brood, larva, and eggs the colony has. Make sure that they have some honey reserves to get through the next couple weeks, and make sure there are also some open frames for the queen to continue to lay in. It is generally better to let a colony continue to grow and split them in late May or June when the hive is stronger and conditions are more favorable.

Feel free to reach out to me directly if you have any questions or have concerns following your inspection.

Regards,

Joe

Joe Bessetti

(DCBA President)

608-576-2469