Native bees - joining 2 hive boxes together to "split" the hive

[Psychochook]

Hi,

I recently managed to capture/save a hive of native bees (T. carbonaria).  I built their hive box using a design that will allow me to split it by cutting through on the horizontal (I don't have the hive plan in front of me so can't give the exact name of the design I have used).  I was told that I should wait a couple of years to give them time to re-establish themselves and become strong before I attempt to split the hive.

I am wondering that, if I am waiting 2 years, rather than chopping the hive in half (which is destructive and no doubt very stressful for the bees) I could build another bee hive box (box b) now with two holes in the bottom box.  I could then attach my current bee hive (box a) to the box b via a short tube tube (forcing the bees to travel through box b to leave to forage).  I am hoping that over 2 years, the bees will  put brood in both boxes.  When I am ready to split the hive I simply remove the tube between the hives and plug it up the second hole in box b.  If there is brood in both boxes then I will effectively end up with 2 hives without the cutting.

Does anyone with experience in keeping native bees have any opinion on this idea?  Do you think it would work?

Thanks in advance
Simon

[BeeMaster2]

By native bees do you mean stingless?
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Jim

[folieadeux]

What they call "Hard splits" involves cutting the hive in half.
Doing a "Soft split" is persuading the bees to duplicate themselves in another box, eventually to be disconnected from the original hive, thus becoming a seperate colony. 

Here's a couple of links that might be helpful to you:

http://www.zabel.com.au/soft-split.html
http://www.nativebees.com.au/native-bees-faq
http://www.aussiebee.com.au/abol-003.html

Good luck with it & take care of those little fellas :)  They're pretty special :)

[Barlon]

Hello Psychochook

I do soft splits all the time with my stingless bees so it should be all good, but you must make sure to follow these steps.

1. you should make sure to use a single box with a clear sheet of plastic under the lid this way you can check the hive without disturbing the bees much.

2. make sure to drill a hole in the pipe you use to connect the two hives then tape a cover over it so you can use it later.

3. check the empty box every 2 to 4 weeks to check the progress and to see if any brood has been built.

4. when you see brood starting in the new hive take the cover off the drill hole on the pipe so the bees can choose whether to enter the new hive or not this way the old hive is less likely to destroy the new one and allows the old hive help it settle.

5. once the new hive is strong enough disconnect it and move it to a new location

I hope this helps out but if you have any questions feel free to pm me