Splitting Questions

[eltalia]

@PhilK

maaate... no way can I advise you on the step by step route to get to what works. For starters it
is very likely the outcome would be me getting banned from the site. That aint gunna happen by
my hand.

You've already sussed one piece of BS, all by yourself.
What I can say safely is get yourself to a club or under the wing of someone like Jeff Heliot..and
there are a mile more of them down your way. From Brissy you may have some travel time in being
guided but well worth the effort, if avoiding basic error is your way forward.

Sorrrry maaate.

Bill

[eltalia]

"Bill
Ok, I got it.  Do you leave a way for drones to leave?"

These are not permanent fixtures in position, gww, you adjust them up
and down according to the condition/result you choose.

I may be telling you something you know...but so I know you know and
you should know 'cos knowing it is important knowledge.
Big picture there are only two things a human can truly control in the
colony - the queen and the drones. In my book both are of equal importance
as they _are_ the colony.
That control is down to one attribute of the bee - size.

No skite/brag-right in place I can tell you I do not recall the last issue
of a swarm from any colony under my management.
Now : cough:
I disagree with a _lot_ of what has been written here and elsewhere
as to swarming, but I say little to nought on the topic.
Don't "start me up" : chuckles:

Cheerio...


Bill

[PhilK]

eltalia thanks for your input mate but saying you disagree with what is being said, that you haven't had a swarm, and that you won't discuss the topic it really doesn't help.

[eltalia]

eltalia thanks for your input mate but saying you disagree with what is being said, that you haven't had a swarm, and that you won't discuss the topic it really doesn't help.

Phil.. you got what I was prepared to give freely.
Leave it at that without the implication my advice is suspect.
That's exactly how confrontation starts on these things and I aint playing
that game..okay.

Compliments.

Bill

[Acebird]

This is my issue. We have 14 hives. To stop swarming I need to split all hives twice? That's 56 hives - no way am I ready for that many hives. And I have to do this every year?

Not all hives coming through winter will be hell bent on swarming.  Some will just make it and others won't make it at all.  Not all your splits will make it either in most cases.  If you end up with so much success that you have too many hives you can sell, or combine.  You can select which queens you want to keep or which ones you want to sell or make juice out of.  Success gives you many options while failure gives you few.

Dividing by the box or halving hives is not a commercial endeavor if that is your goal.  It is a simple method of curbing swarming and staying sustainable.  Nothing could be easier or require less talent.

[PhilK]

Thanks Ace, appreciate the advice. Our 'winter' here gave us a pretty good honey harvest and the average temperature during the day couldn't have been less than 22 degrees C, so most colonies come out of winter fairly strong. I take your point though, thanks!

[kanga]

Phil, there is a good article written by Des Cannon on Swarm Control and Management

http://www.theabk.com.au/articles/2016/8/4/swarming-control-and-management

Kev

[Acebird]

Philk, just so I am clear, winter is your cooler months?  If so then an American comparison would be southern CA, TX and Florida depending on what your rainfall is.  I don't think BK's in these areas keep QE's on though.

[Acebird]

Phil, there is a good article written by Des Cannon on Swarm Control and Management

I see nothing contradictory to American practice in this article.

[PhilK]

Not looking for a QE debate as we are happy with the production we see with QEs in place and find it very easy for honey extraction - just confused about how not to end up with 70 hives in a couple of years haha!

[Acebird]

just confused about how not to end up with 70 hives in a couple of years haha!

Most beekeepers that want to get to 70 hives would not even consider splitting hives in half especially if they themselves are already 70.  Although the math appears as though it is exponential the reality is much different.

[eltalia]

Not looking for a QE debate as we are happy with the production we see with QEs in place and find it very easy for honey extraction - just confused about how not to end up with 70 hives in a couple of years haha!

G'Evening Phil...
No doubt someone has told you it is possible to max out both honey production _and_ brood
generation using a QE/QX as a manipulative tool. Not at all concerned with either any
longer - I retired - I do the lazyman thing with two Langs for brood and up to two for honey...
.. on my two permanent colonies, largely unattended.
And like you  I do very nicely, thankyeall.

On the "70 hives" thing..?..by the way, for the enthusiaist it's "colonies", or should be.
Commercial operations have "hives". The term makes it less personal and so as a farming
enterprise somewhat easier to do some things a businessman must do with bees to remain
viable.

I digress... as I am wont to do ;-D

Even if you did not matriculate Phil you would be no stranger to consuming studies, so I provide
a link to one paper that could explain why it is you are in no danger of getting to 70 hives, or indeed
losing a colony from a failure to split. I learnt this stuff at school as part of Ag.Study, pure theory
(then) for us as graduation saw the end of the colonies under our study.
Yet that groundwork stood me in good stead for many years prior to the iNetz turning up.

I'd give out a basic plan of management buuuuut I took me dawg to the Vet just last Friday and
came away with a 10day course of antibiotics and a $265 tab for an examination and a wound
wash..... say no more :-)))

Good news is I am putting together a tute on airpaths for some here who are puzzled by the topic
and of which there is little to none wrtten up in docs as I link to here;

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3647073/


Cheers.


Bill