Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: split or keep building  (Read 1358 times)

Offline hvac professor

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 69
  • Gender: Male
split or keep building
« on: June 17, 2013, 08:27:52 pm »
I have three hives, two of which are to the point where I am not experienced enough to know whether to add another super, or split? Sunday May 12th I added a deep to one of the hives and 24 days later it was full so I added another deep May 30th. This was the fifth deep on the hive. This past Saturday 6/15  I pulled the supers apart to check things out and found a lot of larva on top of frames. I did not pull frames since they were crowded with bees, I added a 6th deep and now wondering if I should split? I also have another hive in similar condition, any advice?

Online Kathyp

  • Global Moderator
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 20361
  • Gender: Female
Re: split or keep building
« Reply #1 on: June 17, 2013, 11:31:43 pm »
you want to know what's going on under there.  if they have moved up and abandoned the lower boxes, you'll want to remove those.  + you can't overwinter with that many boxes in your area, so you need to be thinking about  that.

if you truly have that many deeps full, i'd be thinking about splitting then.  two full deeps each would still be lots of space for winter.
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline sticbow

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 14
  • Gender: Male
Re: split or keep building
« Reply #2 on: June 18, 2013, 01:07:40 am »
I've had this issue when I added too many boxes.  The queen just laid up the center.  It gave me the impression that all the boxes below were as full as the top box,  so I would just add another box.  I ended up consolidating into all the unused space below and my tower of boxes shortened up quickly.

Offline Finski

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 3928
  • Gender: Male
Re: split or keep building
« Reply #3 on: June 18, 2013, 01:41:34 am »

to add another super, or split?



2 super hive is not capable to get honey yield. The hive must be twice as big.

Splitting the hive  means that you do not get honey at all. And what you learn about beekeeping? Nothing. Only how to destroy hives ability to bring honey.

If you want new hives, they are easy to make without spoiling the summer's yield.

.
If a hive has one box full of bees and brood, it takes 6 weeks that is capable to get good yield, Otherwise it uses food to grow more brood.

Lets look my hive now. My best hive had 7 weeks ago one box full of bees and brood. Today it has 3 langstroths and 3 medium. It has 50 kg honey. If day is sunny, it brings 5 kg more honey a day.
This way, when raspberry blooming is finish, it has 100 kg honey at the end of month.


I have half smaller hives and they have now 2 langstroth boxes brood and medium box half full of honey. All their work goes to feed larvae. It takes couple of weeks that they are able to forage full yield.

If my hives are not big enough to forage at the beginning of July, I join them to be good foraging units.
Otherwise my main yield passes by and I never get it.


.
Language barrier NOT included