This was our first ever attempt to split a hive. We knew that our bees would thrive in the surrounding canola fields and the influx of food would boost their strength. However, this meant that there was a risk that part of the hive would swarm off. Swarming occurs when the hive is too strong and too big. Majority of the bees then leave in search of a new home.
We didn't want to loose the bees that we had been nurturing for so long, so we decided to split them before a swarming event happens. This means that we literally split the hive in two and put one half into a new hive. We would then have an additional hive.
We did a lot of research before attempting this split because if we did it wrong, we would likely loose all our bees. There were two indicators that our hive was about to swarm off and that we could go ahead with splitting them.
First, when we opened the hive, it was very clear that the canola fields did them well! They were much stronger than when we first brought them to the fields. Second, there were large amounts of drone bees and their eggs. This is a very clear indicator that the hive is getting ready to swarm off, as they will need many drone bees to go and search for a new spot.
I wish I could take pictures with my eyes to show you the amazing sights and details of each frame that we moved!
We also put a few catch boxes in the surrounding area because we knew that other bees might be swarming off and if we are lucky enough, we could potentially catch them! In fact, on our way to the bees, we drove through a swarm! I have never seen so many bees flying across the road from one canola field to the next! We put our catch box down right there next to the road and hope that those bees will move in.
Next weekend we will go inspect to see if our additional hive is surviving. We couldn't find the queen so the new hive will take up to three weeks to make a new one (when splitting a hive, the queen is meant to be put into the new hive as this hive will be weaker than the first one from which you are doing the split). But we are certain that with the ample food available and the weather becoming slightly warmer, they will successfully make a new queen who can then start laying new eggs and growing the hive.