Spring into Beekeeping = Prepare for Splits and Swarms
The temps are rising and so is my anticipation (or anxiety) for the Honey Bees to finally emerge from the winter dormant state. The last few days here in the PNW we were able to reach temps in the 60’s. This gives PNW Beekeepers a brief opportunity for hive inspection and re-arranging hive boxes (if needed) before the temps plummet - again. It is now time to plan for spring splits and swarm management practices to those who have winter survival stock and their queens. Planning for winter hive survivors in to spring splits and swarm management includes deciding to transition into 5 fame Nucs, 8 frame or 10 frame super boxes, inventory equipment to repair or replace, building out new super boxes. All of these decisions depend on what the Honey Bees tell us what our next steps.
- Is the Queen viable? Did the winter surviving honey bees cluster around their Queen and keep her warm and protected??
- Is there enough population the honey bees are keeping their space warm and encouraging the Queen to start laying?
- Do you see any newly emerged bees wondering around on the frames, or flying around the colony on warmer days?
- If or when there is presence of new brood is there enough young bees to attend to the new brood or do you still have only the old winter bees tending the nursery?
In other words, are there enough resources to split the winter hive in the spring; Five (or four) frames with the queen, her attendees, brood and food and the other Five (or four) frames with just newly laid eggs, attendees and food.
If your winter survivor stock is ready to split from an overwintered brood box to a Nuc box, an 8Frame Box or 10Frame Box get prepared with Beekeeping Equipment from a wide selection Honey Goods offer on our web site.
This 5-frame beehive nuc box kit is the perfect kit for starting a new hive. You can use it to raise a captured swarm or split-off from an existing colony.
This kit is made up of the following pieces of equipment, listed from the bottom of the hive to the top: *Screened bottom board, *Wooden entrance feeder with lid, *5-frame beehive nuc box deep brood chamber, *5 Deep Frames with Acorn Plastic Foundation, *Inner cover, *Telescoping lid
Is your over wintered hive ready to split in to a new 8 or 10 frame deep??
Splitting early before the spring swarm season can ensure you avoid losing a colony to an unknown or unaccessible location to reclaim back into your apiary. You have worked hard and invested deeply to keep your colony going through the winter. Why risk losing a swarm cell in the spring.
In preparation for swarm season this cost-effective and comprehensive starter kit comes fully assembled and ready to use. The deep hive box provides ample space for your queen to lay eggs, has an insulated inner cover, reversible entrance reducer and telescoping lid to protect the hive from the elements and predatory pests. Both 8Frame and 10Frame arrives fully assembled. All you need to do is add some paint and bees,
The 10Frame deep kit includes the following components, listed from bottom to top of the hive: *Screened bottom board, *Reversible entrance reducer, *Deep brood chamber, *10 deep frames with Acorn plastic foundation *Insulated inner cover *Telescoping lid
The 8Frame Deep kit includes the same components as the 10Frame Deep kit with the obvious exception of less two deep frames with Acorn plastic foundation.
What each component piece means to you....
The bottom board is the base of your hive. It supports every other component, so it is important that it’s strong and durable. Our solid bottom board is made of high-quality pine wood. The wooden entrance feeder is perfect for feeding your bees during the spring to build them up quickly. This is also a great feeder for summer or early fall, during a shortage of nectar. The brood chamber is where your queen will lay most of her young. All of our brood chambers are made from select-grade yellow pine, meaning they have no knots or defects. The inner cover is insulated and keeps the bees from ‘gluing’ down the telescoping lid with propolis. Our inner cover is made from yellow pine and plywood. The telescoping lid sits on top of your hive. Its heavy-duty construction protects your hive from the elements.
Acorn plastic foundation is used on all woodenware. It’s heavily waxed for better, smoother acceptance by your bees. Acorn cells are deeper and more defined, they are coated with the most wax in the industry, so that your colonies can take them quickly. Acorn Plastic Foundations have an optional breakaway communication hole to enable easy movement among the frames.
