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Beginners forum, ask beekeeping related questions and get help from other experienced beekeepers. Please use the Search Feature please to avoid duplicated threads
 #2767  by JohnnyLondon
 19 Apr 2019, 20:56
20190419 Nucleus Split of a ten frame Langstroth beehive

19 April: Splitting the hive using the ‘nucleus method’,
The bees have been angry / defensive, I imagine because of lack of space in the brood chamber, preparing to swarm, and defence of honey stocks.

Purpose for split was that I saw several capped Queen cells on quick examination of hive on 17/4, my first inspection in a month. (Hives are kept in Italy)
These capped Queen cells indicate that the hive’s colony is preparing to swarm.

Today 19/4, I moved the existing strong beehive & colony away from the usual position to nearby under shade of a tree. I then placed the newly prepared nucleus hive in the space of where the old hive had been.
Then the fun…. I couldn’t find the Queen in the old hive, despite taking my time.
So, unable to find a Queen, I reversed my approach to the nucleus split. Reasoning that new uncapped brood was an obvious sign that indicated a currently active Queen.

I decided to place five of the ten frames from the old hive in the new hive (dark green colour), ensuring there was no Queen on the frames that I transferred.
The transferred frames contained only one Queen cell, as I removed about eight Queen cells.
I assumed (gambled that the Queen was still in old hive,
Today, while doing the split, I saw one Queen cell already opened by the colony.
So, I placed five frames from the ‘old hive’ into the new hive. The frames were placed from the wall inwards, containing honey stores and brood. I had also added five new frames of undrawn comb to fill the remaining half of the hive. I added a Queen excluder, a honey super, and a bag of bee candy on top to help the new colony establish themselves.
After sunset, I moved the hive which had been placed under the tree, back to the support table where I keep my hives.

My next viewing of hive will be on Saturday 27 April to see if colony has settled and that there are no more new Queen cells.
(Struggled to add photos using this content management system)