Spring 2018 Bee Update - 04/23/18
Bees made it through the Winter in perfectly.
Trying flyback splits on the hives. Hives are 2 8 frame deeps. Both hives full of bees.
Theory is put the old queen in the old location on new foundation. Move the old hive (queenless) into a new location close to the old location. Foragers will fly out of the new location and return after foraging to the old location. Many of these will revert to nurse bees and wax builders. The person I got this from (Laurie Miller) says that this is her preferred type of split. The bees in the new hives with the old queen will 'catch a gear' as she says and really put on the new wax as the queen has no place to lay until they do. Queens will even start to lay better (fuller) patterns
Old location will have lots of nurse bees and resources to raise new queens.
I have a hell of a time finding the queens. Yesterday I put a deep on the bottom with just foundation and shook all the bees I could off the frames into the new deep, Then put an excluder on the new deep and reassembled the hive on top. Bees should come up to cover the brood.
Left the whole setup over night. Today I will move the older brood boxes to a new location a few feet away. One last check in the new box (old location) to see if it's got the queen (bees clustered in the new deep). I'll put feeders on the new hives. I'll let the old hives (new location) requeen.
Maples out in full bloom in my location and an epic weather for the next week (80s).
Fingers crossed.
Trying flyback splits on the hives. Hives are 2 8 frame deeps. Both hives full of bees.
Theory is put the old queen in the old location on new foundation. Move the old hive (queenless) into a new location close to the old location. Foragers will fly out of the new location and return after foraging to the old location. Many of these will revert to nurse bees and wax builders. The person I got this from (Laurie Miller) says that this is her preferred type of split. The bees in the new hives with the old queen will 'catch a gear' as she says and really put on the new wax as the queen has no place to lay until they do. Queens will even start to lay better (fuller) patterns
Old location will have lots of nurse bees and resources to raise new queens.
I have a hell of a time finding the queens. Yesterday I put a deep on the bottom with just foundation and shook all the bees I could off the frames into the new deep, Then put an excluder on the new deep and reassembled the hive on top. Bees should come up to cover the brood.
Left the whole setup over night. Today I will move the older brood boxes to a new location a few feet away. One last check in the new box (old location) to see if it's got the queen (bees clustered in the new deep). I'll put feeders on the new hives. I'll let the old hives (new location) requeen.
Maples out in full bloom in my location and an epic weather for the next week (80s).
Fingers crossed.