Splitting and requeening

[Vance G]

It was still just at freezing at noon today.  I had no dream of installing any of the queens that I went to pick up at the post before 0600.  She was worried about calling too early and I told here she would get no complaints calling beeks to tell them live bees have arrived!..  Queens were shipped from Florida Monday and this has to be a land speed record to me at least for express mail.  Beautiful treatment free Italians from Carpenterapiaries.com 

I was working outside around realized that it was totally still and I was down to a tee shirt working.  I decide that it must be time to go work bees.  It was only 44 at the very sheltered wintering location but a fair amount of bees flying.  I used three queens and then I got to one of my mean colonies I was going to requeen and when I found her, she was pure bee porn.  Big fat lady dragging a gargantuan abdomen calmly thru a forest of emerging workers and checking cells looking for a place to lay an egg.  Three medium brood chamber with brood in all three boxes,  a LOT of brood in all three boxes.  Well I did split the colony three ways and then I saw that last year discarded queen cage in the grass.  I caged her and put her in my bank with the new queens.

 All spring I have been being hacked on by her bunch but that was working without smoke.  A good heavy smoking and I soon had my gloves off as too cumbersome and they really weren't missed.  Maybe I am being rash replacing her.   I think I will have to give her a little split of her own and let here build up again and see what I think then.  Why are the ornery ones always such good bees! 

[10framer]

i did a walkaway split on march 15th with a hive that was a bit too hot.  took the queen with 2 deep frames of brood and two mixed with pollen, nectar and brood.  today that hive is one ten frame deep and 2 medium supers tall.  everything it's been given aside from the 4 combs i started it with has been foundation.  how do you kill a queen that performs like that?

[OldMech]

I used three queens and then I got to one of my mean colonies I was going to requeen and when I found her, she was pure bee porn.

   LOL Vance..

   I guess for me its the difference of gloves or no gloves. I can wear a veil, but I really don't like wearing gloves.  I can deal with an occasional ping or a bee buzzing around the veil, but I don't like scraping stingers out of my fingers. 
   That queen with the mean bees?  If she IS that good. and her bees are that bad..  She goes to a nuc and her hive gets split with new queens.   I really dont like mean bees, but I also have a difficult time doing in a prolific queen, so I use her to make bees for splits or to overwinter in a nuc.

[Jim134]

If you are doing a walk away split.

The first thing to think about before you do a split do you have drones ???



                BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

[Colobee]

10framer:  "how do you kill a queen that performs like that?"
 
I have enough equipment that I'd give her back to nature - a quiet secluded spot, miles from trouble, in a single broken down medium, a few trashed frames, and maybe a makeshift top or just standing on end against an old tree.

Adios!
 
but that's just me...