# Splitting hive - honey harvest?



## brumer0 (Jan 21, 2015)

Hi,

I think I'm going to drop some more cash on another hive body so I can split my existing hive. I get the general idea of how to do this, but I'm wondering if I will be able to get a honey harvest this year if I do this? I'm just needing to know if I should plan on buying several more bodies and frames...

Thanks!


----------



## ed/La (Feb 26, 2009)

I would go ahead and buy or build equipment. If hive is strong ( 2 brood boxes)splitting is a way to stop swarming. A swarm will hurt your honey harvest as much as a split. If your hive is not strong you might need to requeen. No sense in splitting a weak hive. You could do your split with 2 frames of brood a frame or 2 of food and a queen or let them make their own queen. The forage bees will fly back to original hive leaving nurse bees. They will have the whole season to grow. You could use new boxes as swarm traps until you need them. How much honey did you get last year?


----------



## brumer0 (Jan 21, 2015)

Hi, sorry for my slow response. I actually never got any honey last year. The hive was healthy but the honey and brood were mixed throughout the hive. The hive is also in a very bad spot. My plan is to move it then split it a week or two later. I'm waiting for the spring to do this so the hive is lighter, maybe 6-8 more weeks here in NC. I also plan on just letting the bees make their own queen.


----------



## Michael W. Smith (Jun 2, 2002)

ed/La said:


> I would go ahead and buy or build equipment. A swarm will hurt your honey harvest as much as a split.


 While it may hurt your honey harvest - I think it's better to split rather than risk losing a swarm (and having a lower honey harvest anyways). But I've also had after doing a split - the old colony ends up swarming later in the year (no matter how much extra room they seem to have) because they build up so quickly again.

This is the problem with bees - they are likely to swarm. So even though he beekeeper only wants to have 2 or 3 hives, you either split them or capture your own swarm and end up with 4 or 6 hives. Repeat every year minus the hives you lose over the winter!


----------



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

If you make the split soon enough weather wise and before any major flows are on you should get honey to harvest from the original hive provided you only take half.

the second hive will be slow to build up since you say you are going to let the bees make their own queen. It will take roughly 30days from the time the workers find they have no queen to the day you see eggs in the hive from that new queen.

There are ways to prevent swarms other than splitting a hive in the spring. It usually involves adding empty honey supers at the proper time.
I have never done it my self but I have seen as many as 8 shallow honey supers on a hive in June when the dandelion flow is on.

 Al


----------



## brumer0 (Jan 21, 2015)

Hm. I could probably splurge $20 a new queen if it would really give the hive 30 days head start... thanks everybody


----------



## Terri (May 10, 2002)

brumer0 said:


> Hm. I could probably splurge $20 a new queen if it would really give the hive 30 days head start... thanks everybody


Since you live in a warm area with a long growing season, can you split right AFTER the honey harvest? 

If you do, I would reduce the entrance for both hives a bit, to make it harder for the robber bees. In my area, at least, the Italian worker bees will often turn to robbing other hive when they cannot find enough flowers to work.


----------



## Steve in PA (Nov 25, 2011)

I cannot comment for or against, but the OTS method claims a honey harvest after agressively splitting. My friend and I are going to both try it with at least one hive in our yards this year and compare results. It seems to get generally positive reviews but I cannot verify with any experience yet.


----------

