Splitting Methods

1 . What are the three methods of splitting a colony?

• Walk away splits.

• Use existing queen cells to make a split.

• Purchase a new queen or graft your own queens.

2 . What is a “walk away” split?

Separate a healthy colony into 2 smaller colonies. In this method, the old queen stays with one colony and the other colony makes a new queen from open brood.

3 . What are the advantages and disadvantages of a “walk away” split?

Advantage- just divide the strong colony using an empty brood box. It is not necessary to know which box the old queen is in.

Disadvantage- the colony that ends up without the queen must make a new queen- which is slow and risky. The broodless period will last multiple weeks.

4 . What are “queen cell splits”?

Splitting a colony and adding frames with queen cells or ones cut out from another colony. Remove one or several queen cells from a colony preparing to swarm- place these queen cells into the queenless half of the split.

5 . What are the advantage and disadvantages of a “queen cell split”?

Advantage – finding queen cells during the spring months are easy and it shortens the requeening time for the split by several weeks.

Disadvantage – the split will be queenless for a period while the newly hatched virgin takes her mating flight.

6 . What is purchasing a new queen?

Purchasing a mated queen and introducing her into the split.

7 . What are the advantages and disadvantages of purchasing a new queen?

Advantages:

• Gives the queenless half of the split a ready queen.

• Queen may begin laying eggs in as few as several days.

• Colony has minimal broodless time.

• New queen introduces new genetics into an apiary which is beneficial.

• Queen also carries genetically diverse drone sperm from the queen producer.

Disadvantages

• Queens can be expensive.

• Queens may be lost or die in the mail.

• Colony may reject the new queen and kill her (this is called “balling”).

• May be an inferior queen, not properly mated, from aggressive stock or diseased.