Rebalancing after a 50/50 Split

[billdean]

I split a hive a couple of days ago do to finding lots of capped queen cells in it. I split it into 2 nucs each getting 1/2 of the resources. I sat the nucs side by side in the exact same place as the original hive. I have noticed over the last couple days they favor one nuc more than the other by a great deal or they seem to drift to one nuc. I did not find the queen in the original hive and believe they may of swarmed or I rolled her during inspections. Is there a way to to rebalance both nucs so they will stay more of a 50/50 split or is this nothing to worry about? I put the entrance reducers in the bottom board to act as something to make them re-orienate. I do not have the option of moving them farther away.

[Psparr]

Swap their positions.

[divemaster1963]

Ditto on that and move them apart by at least six inches and place a leafy branch in front of entrances to make them due reorientation . do this in morning.

John

[little john]

Certainly swap their positions over.  I'd suggest separating them a little farther apart - to around 12-18" if possible.  If this is out of the question, then rotate one box 180 degrees so that their entrances are oriented in opposite directions, (say) one facing East, the other facing West.

If the foragers always return from the same direction, try to ensure that the entrances are 'square on' to that direction, as some types of bee are prone to drifting, and will enter the first entrance they come to on their return - especially if the hives are lined-up in a row, where the end hives frequently amass more bees, at the expense of the others.

Separation by a fair distance is the best solution, but different orientations of entrances helps - as does having different coloured entrances.

LJ

[KeyLargoBees]

Yep I alternate hive body colors...never the same colors side by side :-)

[Michael Bush]

The best time to swap positions is a week after the split, before the new queen emerges.  The worst time to swap positions is two weeks after the split as the new queen will be in the process of orienting and mating and she may not be home when you do it or may return to the position she was orienting to.