How to get some Field bees to go to new split hive?

[DuaneB]

I inspected my hive yesterday. The queen and bees have been busy. The hive(2 deeps) , as a whole, was about 75% drawn out and filled with brood and food. I did notice a supersedure cell, about 2/3 down on a frame of comb - NOT on the bottom of the frame. So I decided to split the hive. I put the queen in the new hive with various aged brood, pollen, nectar, and capped honey. Basically tried to even out the 2 brood boxes. Put an empty Deep on top with a frame of brood and bees in it; and topped them both off with a top feeder. The second hive is about 4 feet away from the original hive. Of course, all the field bees are going to the original hive location (the queenless hive) and there is hardly any activity at the new hive. I expected this. I know I can swap the hives around, and the field bees will start visiting the queenright hive.  Both hives have top-feeders.

Questions:
1) For the queenless hive, should I let nature run its course and wait about 3 weeks to see if there are any eggs, or purchase a queen and expedite the hive build-up process?

2) What can I do for the queenright hive with , seemingly, no field bees?

[iddee]

Answer to #1 and #2././///// Wait 3 weeks and check both hives. The queenrite hive will make foragers. and the queenless hive will use today's foragers to raise a new queen's brood.

[DuaneB]

Will do, iddee.

Just didn't want the queenrite hive to starve.

Thanks!

[iddee]

They will have foragers within 48 hours.

[beepro]

I say you are trying to make split too early.   I would preserve the queen right hive with all the cap broods and food frames as
much as possible.   Turn it into a mini nuc hive so that the queen is alive.
Then in the queen less hive concentrate all the foragers and bees to make the QCs if you don't want to buy another
mated queen.   More bees will make stronger queens!    Let's say you have 7 QCs made in the queen less hive.  Now you are stuck with not
having enough bees and frames for the expansion.     What to do with the other extra QCs?

[Acebird]

I did notice a supersedure cell, about 2/3 down on a frame of comb - NOT on the bottom of the frame.

I would have expected more than one cell in a populous hive.  Did you keep this cell with the queen side?  On the brood frames, was there 3 day old larvae or younger?

[DuaneB]

I did notice a supersedure cell, about 2/3 down on a frame of comb - NOT on the bottom of the frame.

I would have expected more than one cell in a populous hive.  Did you keep this cell with the queen side?  On the brood frames, was there 3 day old larvae or younger?

Here is where my lack of experience comes in.  I put the queen in one box and the QC in the other box.  Kind of dived up the brood and food resources between the two boxes.  The queenless hive, with the QC is in the original location, where all the Field bees are returning to.  The queenrite hive is about 4 feet to the right.  I did notice a little more foraging activity (queenrite hive) yesterday evening than I did yesterday at noon.

I thought if I kept the Queen cell with the queen, the Queen would leave.  So, I split them.

Not sure on the brood.  Will be taking better notes, next time.

[Acebird]

I thought if I kept the Queen cell with the queen, the Queen would leave.  So, I split them.

Queen cells look the same but their purpose is not the same.  Had the cell/s been swarm cells splitting would be good.  Now usually there is more than one supercedure cell and maybe there was and you didn't see it.  You can split with a supercedure in progress but chances are better if there are a couple of cells in each half.

[iddee]

Refer to reply #1.  In 3 weeks you will either have 2 good hives or one good one and one bad one, in which case we will combine them back.