Splits. Aiken Beekeepers Association July 2016 S. Siler

Transcription

1 Splits Aiken Beekeepers Association July 2016 S. Siler

2 Types of splits Regular split Walk-away split Cut down Modified split (w/queen cells) Demaree

3 Splits are man s way of working with nature to create new colonies and prevent swarms Typical swarms older queen goes with swarm which is full of honey Brood, honey, and pollen stays behind. Most brood is capped, some are uncapped, a few are queen cells just ready to be capped over. Old Colony: Capped brood Capped queen cells Foragers Comb Honey Swarm: Older queen Younger workers Lots of honey Young larvae (once colony is established)

4 Some natural causes of swarming: Congestion: no more room to lay eggs Older queens: don t produce as strong a queen pheromone Poor ventilation

5 Ways to resolve: Regular split Walk away split Cut Down Split

6 Regular split Evenly divide the hive, angle both new hives toward the entrance of the original hive After a week, switch positions to equalize for drift to queen-right colony. After two weeks, move queen-right colony away in preparation for virgin queen flight.

7 Walk away split Frame of eggs, two frames of capped brood, a frame of pollen and honey in a five frame nuc. Shake all bees on uncapped brood (excepting the queen). Walk away. Check the nuc to see if you have a laying queen in a month.

8 Cut-down split (Michael Bush) Take uncapped brood, nurse bees, and food with queen to a nearby location (this will separate the queen from the foragers) Leave all capped brood, one frame of eggs, and honey in old location Foragers will return to old location and raise a new queen. Queen will start laying in new location. Old colony won t swarm because they don t have a queen to swarm with, new colony won t swarm because they don t have enough bees to do so.

9 When creating queens from splits: FEED!!!! Feeding supplements simulate a nectar flow and ensure the colony remains well-fed as they raise a queen.

10 If putting a new queen into a split: Bees are more likely to accept a new queen in the fall or spring. They will more readily accept a queen cell or a mated queen that has been laying already in a nuc hive during the honey flow. Replace a queen with a like queen. Don t put a virgin queen in a hive that had a mated queen. Doing it during a flow or adding syrup to simulate a flow is a good idea. Place new queen in cage between two frames of uncapped brood. Nurse bees accept a new queen better than foragers.

11 Signs of swarm preparation: Backfilling the brood TONS of bees in colony ( overflowing with bees) Lots of capped brood, very few eggs/larvae Imminent: Uncapped queen cells vs. queen cups Quiescent

12 Uncapped queen cells present: If you are okay with two hives, treat similar to a regular split: Transfer queen and approximately ½ of brood, bees, and food to new hive, in new location, a couple miles from the old hive in order to prevent foragers from returning to the old location. Leave queen cells in old hive and let them rear a new queen or get rid of queen cells and re-queen.

13 Uncapped queen cells present: If you want to stick with one hive, treat as a Demaree Split (can be done with or without queen cells) Put queen in bottom chamber, on empty comb. Put a queen excluder above queen Put a honey super above the queen excluder Place all brood (capped and uncapped) in top chambers of colony with pollen (destroy any queen cells if present) Return in 7-8 days to destroy any new queen cells that have been created. Bees will fill space with honey once all brood has been hatched out.

14 What to expect if they already swarmed: Capped queen cells If you see capped queen cells, do not turn them over and around to inspect them. Put them back into the colony as carefully as possible and leave the colony alone. Go back in three weeks: See if you can find eggs. If you don t see any but they are gentle and bringing in pollen, you typically have a queen. Give them another week and then look for her again. If you don t see pollen or eggs, give them one frame of young brood and wait one more week. If there are no signs of a queen, combine with another colony.

15 When to worry on splits or swarms.. Colony becomes highly defensive Bees are trying to make new queen cells No pollen is being brought in after four weeks More than one egg in the cell

16 Laying workers vs. new queen Sometimes a new queen will lay two or three eggs in the bottom of a cell (a misfire ), leading folks to think they have laying workers. If the eggs are on the bottom of the cell, it is just a young mated queen. Her pattern will clear up shortly. Laying workers have shorter abdomens. They can t reach their body all the way down to the bottom of the cell. As such, you will see eggs cemented on the side wall of the cell instead of on the bottom.

17 Handling laying workers.. Personally 1. Place a strong queen-right colony in the location of the laying worker hive 2. Reduce the entrance on that hive to the smallest hole possible 3. Take the laying worker colony 300 feet + away. 4. Shake the laying worker colony out on a sheet and let them fly back to their original location. 5. Let the queen-right colony sort things out.

18 Other methods: Newspaper combine them with a really strong queen-right colony Put them on straight foundation, close them up, and let them go hungry for a day or two then feed them, add two frames of young brood, and introduce a caged queen. Release her once it looks like they have accepted her.

19 Questions???