As your colony grows in age and number, you may consider splitting your hive to grow your apiary, prevent swarming, or even earn some extra income by selling your split in the form of a nuc.

Some things to consider when contemplating whether to make splits is the health of the original hive and the point in the season.

For starters, you want to be sure your hive is large and healthy enough to support losing half its population. There should be enough capped brood and honey to evenly distribute the frames and still allow for a strengthening of the young and old hives.

Honey flow is another important thing to consider. In most parts of the globe, late spring and early summer is the ideal season for honey flow. This is the time when weather permits safe flight for workers and nectar is readily available as flowers bloom. It’s a busy period for the hive and a delight for the beekeeper as bees are buzzing in and out constantly with workers foraging for and returning with nectar.

Why is honey flow important to splits?

An experienced beekeeper is always aware of the available space in their hive, and the honey flow is crunch time in this regard. As your bees rapidly fill up frames with honey and brood, they can quickly run out of resources to support the ever-growing colony. If the beekeeper is too late to provide the additional space, the colony will swarm.

Rats.

“... a colony can only grow so large while maintaining its health...”

Of course, the beekeeper can always add additional boxes to keep up with the growth of the colony. But a colony can only grow so large while maintaining its health, and eventually a split may be the best option for the bees and beekeeper.

One of the easiest temptations for beekeepers as they make splits is to leave the old, already-drawn-out comb for the new colony. We veer away from this for a number of reasons.

First, the new colony needs a healthy start. As we’ve discussed previously, old comb is ridden with pathogens and environmental toxins. This is because bees pick up all sorts of chemicals, pesticides, and the like when they are out foraging, only to bring them back to the colony and introduce unwanted agents inside the hive. By giving bees a brand-new frame coated in pure, unadulterated capping wax, they’ll be starting with the cleanest environment possible.

Second, the new colony needs the space. This is crucial. As the immature colony seeks to grow in number and possibly introduces a new queen, they need as many available cells as possible for both brood and food. Without fresh frames, the colony will quickly run out of space and lead to an overcrowded, malnourished hive.

Third, the new colony needs the time. Here’s something few hobbyist beekeepers think about: Bees have to work with their hands to configure the optimal size and shape of the comb. They instinctively know this comb size, and anything outside of these parameters requires time and energy spent removing old comb built up of wax and skin sheds from repeated brood cycles. By giving bees a foundation with the exact cell size they build in nature, beekeepers are saving the new colony valuable time and energy on the front end.

As summer approaches at full speed, the wise beekeeper has their eyes up and is preparing for strong, healthy winter bees. That means splitting early enough for both the original and new hive to build up their populations and leaving enough room for adequate food stores.

On a final note, we at Premier Bee Products always aim to look at things from the bees’ perspective. They are the beekeeper’s labor force, after all, and a wise boss understands that production is a result of their employees’ satisfaction. (Or should we say, “employ-bees.” Ouch, that one hurt a little... We’ll let ourselves out.)

Take care of your bees and they will be sure to take care of you.

Hive Splits: How to Start Your New Colony Off Right