I'm not a newbie per se, but am new to "manipulations" in the way of increases, splits, etc.
I am strictly a hobbyist, there's no business interest involved, I don't rob them of the honey, and I have one hive. This one was a survivor from 7 years ago, when I first started beekeeping. I am a minimalist (I know that's not a very welcome style among many beeks- but just so you guys know up front :)) I initially wanted to go strictly organic. I lost 4 out of my 5 hives as a newbee in the first two years due to my stubbornness. The hive I have left is naturally tough and appears to be resistant or tolerant of mites.
Anyway, i built the new one-story hive for my colony and today I went to transfer them into it. No problems, but the colony has increased what I estimate to be 25-30% in numbers over the past year. I suspect they made a new queen and she is really productive. There was lots of brood in the hive, and lots of honey stores. Much more production of honey than in past years. This is all good I realize, but this was unexpected, and I figure they are going to start getting crowded and swarm. That's not a problem either- I tend to let them do what comes naturally as a general rule, and I work the hive only to check on their general health and I do regular mite counts to make sure they are not getting out of control.
I have no experience with splits or swarm capture, and am considering trying to do a split.
I know the basics, but was wondering if there are any helpful hints or tricks that I need to be aware of.
Thanks everybody. :)