(objects thuds)
(mouse clicks)
- [Kathleen] Welcome.
I'm going to walk you through
a quick and simple method
to divide or split a colony.
I will first give a brief overview
of the biology of a swarm,
and then walk you through
how to perform a split.
Swarming is a unique form of reproduction
at the colony level.
Honeybee swarms are a normal sign
of productive and strong colony.
Swarming is when the majority
of the worker bees in the
colony, along with the queen,
leave the original nest
to establish a new nest,
for example, in a neighboring
tree or the siding in a house.
A split is an artificial swarm
implemented by a beekeeper.
It is used as a management strategy
to reduce swarming incidences
and increase colony numbers.
The colony population of the
western honey bee fluctuates
throughout the year,
according to the seasons
and resource availability.
Here's a graph showing the daily number
of adult bees and brood in a colony
over the course of one season.
This timeline is specific
to temperate regions.
However, these population
trends are similar
in southern regions.
During early spring, the lengthening days
and ample resources of pollen and nectar
stimulate brood rearing.
With this increase and the accompanying
increase in adult bees,
the nest are of the
colony becomes crowded,
and the colony will begin
swarming preparations.
Swarming occurs when adult
bee populations peak.
In temperate regions,
swarming peaks in mid spring,
during May and June.
You can see there is a
secondary peak in swarming
during late summer in July and August
as fall nectar flow begins.
Swarming preparations
begin with queen rearing.
Up to four weeks before a swarm issues,
colony congestion induces queen rearing,
which leads to reduced transmission
of queen pheromones throughout the colony.
Common indicators that a
colony is preparing to swarm,
include the presence of queen cells
and increased drone brood.
Swarming occurs during
period of intense flowering,
and you will notice foragers
with copious amounts of
pollen entering the colony.
The first visual sign that a
colony is preparing to swarm
is the appearance of queen cells.
A queen cell resembles a peanut.
As queens develop, the cells elongate
and the queen emerges from the tip.
Workers tend to build queen cells
along the edges and bottom of the comb,
although they can also
be found in comb faces.
After the eggs hatch into larva,
the workers provide a special
gland food called royal jelly,
which triggers the development
of queen-like characteristics,
including fully developed ovaries
and glands for producing queen pheromones.
Colonies rear, on average,
10 to 25 queen cells at once.
As the new queen develops,
the cells are capped.
And within 72 hours of
capping, a swarm issues.
About one week prior to swarming,
the old queen is prepped for flight.
Workers feed her less,
resulting in reduced egg laying,
thus her abdomen diminishes in weight,
so that she can fly along with the swarm.
The majority of bees
that issue during a swarm
are less than 10 days old.
Several days prior to swarming,
these workers will engorge with honey
to ensure that they have
sufficient food reserves
while in transit.
The swarm issues during the
warmer hours of the day.
About 60 to 70% of workers
and the queen leave in mass
from the entrance, and
cluster on a nearby object,
for example a branch.
This cluster can remain there
anywhere from a few minutes to a few days.
Scout bees will search the
area to find a suitable cavity
in which to establish a new nest.
It is common for previous
nests to become reoccupied.
The original colony retains
about 30 to 40% of workers,
along with capped and
uncapped queen cells,
brood, and food reserves,
including pollen and honey.
The emerging brood in the original colony
provides an influx of young workers
and allows the colony's population
to rebound until a queen
emerges and begins laying.
Here's a short video of an emerging queen.
On day 16, the queen emerges.
She choose a circular cut
around the cap of her cell,
and workers generally assist
the queen while she emerges.
Often, the cap swings open
when most of the cut is made.
She eats, grooms herself,
and begins to look for rival queens.
Within three weeks after emergence,
she will mate and begin laying.
An emerged queen announces
her presence by pheromones
and a series of high pitched pulse sounds,
also called piping.
Occasionally, two or more
queens emerge at once.
When this occurs, the queens will fight
until only one remains.
The queen will scout the comb,
killing other queens
that have yet to emerge
by chewing a small hole
in the side of the cell
and stinging the occupant.
Now let's take a look at swarm management.
I will walk you through
a step-by-step protocol
of how to perform a split.
Swarming can be a problem for beekeepers
because of loss of swarms
from managed colones
can severely depress honey
yields due to loss of bees.
Splitting a colony early
before peak nectar flow
is a common practice that
minimizes honey losses.
It is also an excellent
way to increase colones
and compensate for previous winter losses.
Swarm management is necessary
for overwintered colonies,
but it is not uncommon for packaged bees
to swarm during their first year,
particularly during the summer.
Swarm preventative strategies
include removing existing queen cells,
providing more space by
additional hive bodies
for both resources such
as pollen and nectar,
and brood rearing, and splitting a colony.
Colony splits are typically an
early spring management tool
as the colony comes out of winter,
but it is not uncommon
to split mid season.
Early recognition is essential
to successfully split a colony.
Two prime indicators are
the presence of drone brood
and the appearance of dandelions.
Typically, splits are
performed during the spring.
In temperate regions, this
will be in late April or May.
Splitting prior to major nectar flows
will allow colony populations to rebound
and prevent significant
losses in honey yields.
It is important to wait until
a colony is large enough
so that after it split,
there are sufficient
adult bees in each colony.
A common mistake is to split
when a colony is too small.
A general rule is to wait
until a colony is a minimum
of two hive bodies tall
and seems crowded.
A good indicator of the
time in which to split
is when the dandelions are in bloom.
Splitting a colony too early in the season
can result in chilled brood
and failure of the queen to mate.
Another indication that
it is time to split
is the presence of queen cells.
A charged queen cell is an elongated cell
that contains royal jelly
with an egg or larva,
whereas a queen cup is empty and shorter.
It is common to see queen
cups throughout the season
even when the colony is
not preparing to swarm.
However, once a charged
queen cell is spotted,
it is time to split.
The timeframe between the presence
of charged queen cells and swarming
is very narrow and easy to miss,
thus it is possible to split a colony
prior to the presence
of charged queen cells.
However, the colony must be strong
with lots of bees and brood
and at least two, preferably
three, hive bodies tall.
Depending on the severity of
the winter in your region,
this can be as early as
March or as late as May.
Let's get started.
There are multiple
techniques to split a colony.
Here I will show you a
common and simple technique
that does not require moving
or shaking worker bees.
In general, the less that
you disturb the bees,
the easier it will be.
It is important to have
everything prepared in advance.
Materials include a smoker, a hive tool,
and an additional hive, including a lid,
inner cover, hive bodies,
bottom board and empty frames.
First, have your new equipment ready.
For example, when I am performing a split,
I set up the hive near where I am working
to make the transfer of frames easier.
Second, find the queen.
This can be a tedious task
when the colony is large.
If the Queen is present,
there will be eggs.
A few days before a swarm issues,
the Queen will see seize laying
in preparation for flight.
If there are capped queen cells, no eggs,
and the bee population has diminished,
the colony probably has already swarmed.
If the colony is large,
one option is to find the
Queen a few days in advance,
place her in the top or bottom
super with a queen excluder.
And on the day of the split,
she will be easier to find.
Finding the queen takes experience
and can be difficult for
beginning beekeepers.
In general, it is easy to spot her
if she is marked with a small
dab of paint on her thorax.
I also recommend splitting a colony
on a warm and sunny afternoon
when the bees are foraging,
because not only will the
colony be more gentle,
but the queen may be easier to spot
because many of the
workers will be foraging.
Once you spot the queen,
move her to the new hive,
which will now be referred
to as the parent colony.
It is best to not
physically handle the queen
to avoid damaging her.
An easy way to move her is to move
the entire frame that she
is on to the parent colony.
Give this colony empty frames,
so the queen can continue to lay.
Open and capped brood stay
with the original colony,
now referred to as the daughter colony.
It is important that you
do not place queen cells
in the same colony as the parent colony
with the laying queen because
this may stimulate a swarm.
Next, split the resources,
including pollen and honey,
evenly between the two colonies.
Do not attempt to shake or remove the bees
from these frames.
Next, switch the
locations of the colonies,
placing the parent colony
with the laying queen
in the original location.
About one third of the
colony are foragers,
and the reduced population in this colony
will quickly be replenished
as the foragers return,
and the queen continues
laying, so be patient.
Place the daughter colony
with the capped queen cells
and brood to a new location,
either in the same or a different apiary.
As worker bees emerge
in the daughter colony,
the population will replenish over time,
until a new queen emerges
and begins laying.
Because the nurse bees in
this colony have yet to leave
and make orientation flights,
they will return to the location
in which you place this colony.
It will take on average three weeks
before you will spot eggs.
It is recommended to
give the parent colony
an additional hive body so
the Queen has ample room
to continue laying and storing resources.
Here's an animated diagram
to summarize this process.
Choose a sunny and warm day
in which to perform the split.
Set up the new equipment near
where you will be working.
After finding the queen place her,
along with the frame she is
on, in the parent colony.
Split pollen and honey
evenly between the colonies.
Switch locations of the colonies.
Give the parent colony
an additional hive body,
so the Queen has ample
room to continue to lay.
The foragers will return
to the parent colony,
and the nurse bees,
along with the developing
queens and brood,
will remain in the daughter colony.
The nurse bees in the daughter colony
have yet to leave the colony
and make orientation flights.
So these bees will return to the location
in which you place this colony.
At this point, the daughter colony
can be left to rear a new queen.
If you're introducing a new queen cell,
you would do this now.
There are multiple methods
to requeen a colony.
The daughter colony can be
left to rear a new queen.
You can introduce a queen
cell from another colony,
or a new queen with specific
genetics can be introduced.
If you are introducing a new queen
it is important to wait three
days before introducing her.
During this three-day period,
workers will begin rearing
new queens from worker brood,
and so it is important
to remove all queen cells
before introducing her.
Otherwise, this could cause
rejection of the new queen.
If you are splitting a colony
before the presence of queen cells
and you do not have access
to a queen or queen cell,
you can let the bees rear
a queen from worker eggs.
After splitting, it is best to not disturb
the daughter colony
for two to three weeks,
so that the queen can emerge,
mate and begin laying.
After three weeks, I recommend
checking the colony for eggs.
Feeding is encouraged when it is
still too early in the season to forage,
or the weather does not permit foraging.
Frames of honey can be
given to the colony.
If you do not have frames of honey,
alternative feeding methods,
including mason jar, an entrance feeder,
or a division board, commonly
called a frame feeder.
If using a division board, place floaters,
for example styrofoam balls or a ladder
that is highlighted in red,
inside so that the bees
have something to land on
and will not drown.
Examples can easily be found online.
Congratulations.
You have successfully split a colony.
I hope that you have enjoyed this video,
and happy beekeeping.
