what do you think my options are for expanding?

[taff..]

I currently have 2 colonies that I inspected for the first time today, well it was 19 degrees C

No1 is in a 14x12, has a reasonable amount of brood of all stages over 4 frames, a good number of bees, loads of pollen and stores, temperment today was a little bit tetchy and running around on the frames, queen present and really big and fat

no2 is a double brood with the top box being a 14x12, bottom is a national.

top box (14x12) has brood of all stages on 8 frames and the bottom has brood on 6

one of the 14x12 frames had a sheet of national foundation (because I ran out of 14x12), the bottom couple of inches that the bees have drawn out foundationless is now 100% capped drone brood. this hive has plenty of bees, food and loads and loads of pollen. temperment today was really good, nice and calm and walking around, loverly
this colony was massive last year and gave me a very good honey crop.

what I want to achieve this year is an increase up to 4 colonies, preferably all with daughters of no2's queen (obviously except no2).

short term I intend to boost the number of bees in no1 by donating a frame or two from no2.

no2 is clearly prime candidate for spliting down into a number of nucs, but realistically is splitting the colony into 3 a split too far, will that have a massive affect on my honey crop? (not the be all and end all, but this hobby has to pay for itself)


any words of wisdom from the old and bold??

 

[Poly Hive]

Congrats Taff.

two questions.

What spare kit have you got, thinking of hives or nucs?

What queen rearing experience do you have to make use of?

PH

 

[taff..]

Congrats Taff.

two questions.

What spare kit have you got, thinking of hives or nucs?

What queen rearing experience do you have to make use of?

PH

spare kit - 2 complete 14x12 hives, 1 nat hive, 2 14x12 nucs, 1 nat nuc.

experience - none

 

[Poly Hive]

Ok.

Next awkward question...lol... which hive type do you want to lean towards?

Your #2 seems the one to breed from. Get one or other of the boxes up to good strength, find queen and put in box on the floor. queen ex. then two or three supers, three for good luck, and put other BB on top. Let them draw cells.

Knock out these cells as you do NOT and cannot but geuss the age of the larvae they use for them.

Give a frame with some eggs in it and preferably nothing esle. (give them foundation to draw and be prepared that the eggs may be laid in it that night. Yes they do move that fast.

Given how strong your #2 is now I think three nucs is achievable quiet easily.

I would though not steal from it for #1, let it just get on with it as best it can. It can be re-queened later by dequeening it, let it produce cells, knock them out, and give it eggs from #2 to use for queen cells.

PH

 

[taff..]

Ok.

Next awkward question...lol... which hive type do you want to lean towards?

Your #2 seems the one to breed from. Get one or other of the boxes up to good strength, find queen and put in box on the floor. queen ex. then two or three supers, three for good luck, and put other BB on top. Let them draw cells.

Knock out these cells as you do NOT and cannot but geuss the age of the larvae they use for them.

Give a frame with some eggs in it and preferably nothing esle. (give them foundation to draw and be prepared that the eggs may be laid in it that night. Yes they do move that fast.

Given how strong your #2 is now I think three nucs is achievable quiet easily.

I would though not steal from it for #1, let it just get on with it as best it can. It can be re-queened later by dequeening it, let it produce cells, knock them out, and give it eggs from #2 to use for queen cells.

PH

I want them to be on 14x12.

sorry, the bit highlighted in bold is confusing me a bit (which is it not difficult )

what I think you are saying is make the top brood box hopelessly queenless, then add a frame (or maybe 2) of eggs, allow them to start off queen cells, and then split the frames equally into 2 nucs. am I close?

 

[Poly Hive]

Close enough yes... or three or four, your call.

PH

 

[taff..]

Close enough yes... or three or four, your call.

PH

nice one, cheers

 

[Rosti]

Taff, nice position to be in! If No2 hive is your favourite I'd be tempted to go KISS. Wait until May and simply remove and split the Std Nat to 2 x 5 frame nucs. Leave the donor on straight 14x12 with the original queen. Wait until I had a viable (confirmed mated) queen from one or other and then deal with a migration to 14x12 as a second stage. Strikes me your Queen traits are worth more than a frame size at this stage. You might even get 2 extra colonies out of it. R

 

[oliver90owner]

I agree with PH. The only addition I might make is that I might leave hive #2 after queen celsa are drawn and well on their way and split the other hive for the nuc colonies for those queen cells. That would mean you have your one really strong hive for queen cells and honey production.

Down side will be it will into swarm mode, just when all your kit is in use!

Regards, RAB

 

[Skyhook]

Taff, nice position to be in! If No2 hive is your favourite I'd be tempted to go KISS. Wait until May and simply remove and split the Std Nat to 2 x 5 frame nucs. Leave the donor on straight 14x12 with the original queen. Wait until I had a viable (confirmed mated) queen from one or other and then deal with a migration to 14x12 as a second stage. Strikes me your Queen traits are worth more than a frame size at this stage. You might even get 2 extra colonies out of it. R

I know some people favour this method, but others have concerns that the queens raised will be small, due to there only being just enough bees to feed them up. Bigger colonies have the wherewithal to raise bigger queens.

 

[Poly Hive]

Size of the queen matters not a whit... good nutrition of her does.

I have seen massive queens achieving nothing and tiny wee things heading massive colonies.

PH

 

[taff..]

cheers all, it's all good food for thought