Don Hopkins and Will Hicks came by to inspect the new nuc yesterday. I had them look at the hive I started last year as well. Both were strong and disease and pest free. Don noted that the old hive would soon swarm, so he suggested I go ahead and split it. His advice was, if I could find the queen, to move her to the new hive. Unfortunately, Doug Shaw and I looked for about 30 minutes, looking on each frame 2-3 times and never saw her. So we took the frame with the visible queen cell Don had pointed out and moved that frame and four other brood frames and two full of honey supers to the new hive.
The question for you with wisdom and experience: I haven't seen much activity in the new hive and I'm not sure there was an egg in the queen cell, which wasn't capped. Should I just go ahead and requeen? Or should I be a bit patient? Tell me what signs I should follow.
Bill,
Glad to hear that the nuc and your other hive are doing well and are healthy.
Not much activity in the new hive can be explained by the foragers going back to the old hive.
I would check both hives in a few days to look for eggs and larvae, that will tell you which hive the queen is in.
The queen cell should be capped in 8-9 days total so check for progress on the queen cell or a capped queen cell in a few days.
If the queen is in the old hive and you have a capped queen cell in the new hive things may be good. You could reposition the hives so the entrances face each other almost touching for a few days. That would split the foragers between the hives and then they can be moved to new locations with a branch at the entrance to get them to reorient.
These are my thoughts at this point others may have additional info.
Let us know how things go.
Ski
I also rechecked the old hive -- needed to replace plastic foundations I borrowed with some frames that have wax foundations. While I was in, I looked at all the brood frames. Plenty of capped brood and plenty of bees. They have half filled a super since the split. I think all the foragers went back into the old hive. A couple of the plastic frames had bees, so after I took them out, I shook them into the split hive. The new hive has its own foragers and is somewhere in strength between a package and a nuc. So, generally, I am pleased with the split.
But I also noticed a new swarm cell on one of the well established brood frames in the old hive. It was new wax, so I'm sure it was made after I did the split. I didn't see an egg, but couldn't see clearly. So, now I want more wisdom from those who possess it. Do I kill the swarm cell? Or do I make another split? I'm planning on going in this weekend to add another super so I will be in the hive.
I appreciate y'all's help on this. Good point about new brood because I didn't look. I will look closely when I go in. So, because we couldn't find the existing queen when we split and if there is no new brood, I presume I should just let it be and let them requeen themselves. The frame we made the split from last week had what was described in the class as the classic superceder cell -- most of the way up on the side of a frame. The new cell is what was described as the classic swarm cell -- on the very bottom of the frame.
But if I find new brood, I am still a bit undecided. Because you didn't say don't do it to either option, I can still see going either way. Is one preferable -- a strong hive that is kept on the brink, or an OK hive with a new weak sister?
Don noted that the old hive would soon swarm, so he suggested I go ahead and split it. His advice was, if I could find the queen, to move her to the new hive. Unfortunately, Doug Shaw and I looked for about 30 minutes, looking on each frame 2-3 times and never saw her. So we took the frame with the visible queen cell Don had pointed out and moved that frame and four other brood frames and two full of honey supers to the new hive.