How to Split a Beehive

In spring your healthy beehive will be full and if you're not careful they could swarm.

Splitting a beehive will not only help to stop swarming but will double the amount of hives you own.

Step 1: Queen Cage

For this job you'll need a queen cage, this will allow you to capture the queen safely while you split your hive.

Step 2: Remove the Lid and Queen Excluder

This beehive has a double brood box, this way of split a hive will work for a double or single brood box.

Step 3: Inspect the Beehive Making Sure There Is Enough Brood.

You'll need a strong hive with good stores for splitting.

This hive has a good amount of brood and honey stores.

Step 4: Move to the Bottom Brood Camber

If you are unable to locate the queen in the top brood box, remove and inspect the lower box.

Step 5: Locate the Queen.

Once you have located the queen, carefully capture her using the queen cage.

Make sure to slowly close the cage to make sure you don't cut her in half.

Step 6: Choose Frames With New Bee Larvae

To split your hive you will need 2 frames with a mixture of capped and uncapped bee larvae.

This will allow the split to create a new queen.

Carefully transfer into a nucleus box (small box).

Step 7: Give Them a Fighting Chance

To help kick start the new hive, transfer a frame of honey.

Step 8: Shake Things Up

Remove a frame from the original box that has a large number of bee.

Shake the bees from the frame into the new box.

The bees that do not fly away are nurse bees, they we start to look after the bee bee larvae and will start to create a new queen.

Step 9: Returning the Queen to Her Throne

Carefully release the queen back into the original hive.

Step 10: Close It Up

The beehives back together and place the lit on both hives.

Move the new hive away from the old hive.

It will take about 3 weeks for a new queen to develop, mate and begin laying eggs.

For more information please watch the video.