Splits and Packages: How to Safely Expand an Apiary

Learn techniques for creating new bee colonies that not only allow for dynamic apiary growth but are also a key element in combating swarming mood and parasites.

Artificial propagation of bee colonies is a fundamental tool in modern apiary management, enabling planned population increases without the risk of losses associated with natural swarming. Unlike the spontaneous swarming process, these methods allow for full control over the genetic traits of the bees and their honey yield.

Why Create Splits?

The main reason experts recommend creating splits is to prevent swarming mood. Removing part of the brood and young bees from a strong colony “relieves” congestion in the hive and gives nurse bees work, which helps maintain the production colony in a state of high working activity. Furthermore, splits are an effective method for combating varroa – creating splits without brood or with a limited amount of open brood allows for a very effective treatment during the period when there is no sealed brood.

Method 1: Individual Split (Simple)

This is the most popular method in both hobbyist and professional apiaries, involving creating a new colony from one strong parent colony.

• Strength of the parent colony: Minimum 10–12 densely covered frames and 7–8 frames of brood.
• Composition of the split: 3–4 frames with mature sealed brood along with the bees covering them.
• Additional bees: Shake bees from 2 additional frames with open brood (that’s where most young nurse bees are).
• Food: 2 frames with honey and bee bread placed on the sides of the nest.

How to do it:

1. On a sunny day when the flying bees are out foraging, locate the queen in the parent colony and secure her so she doesn’t end up in the split.
2. Move the selected frames with sealed brood and bees to a new hive, maintaining their original order.
3. Shake bees from the additional frames, being careful not to damage the brood.
4. Add frames with food and insulate the nest.
5. Introduce a new queen (preferably a laying queen in an introduction cage) or a mature queen cell.
6. Key condition for success: Move the split to a distance of more than 3–5 km to prevent flying bees from returning to the old hive. If you cannot move them, close the entrance for 2–3 days in a cool, dark place.

Method 2: Collective Split

This method allows for the creation of a very strong new colony without significantly weakening any of the production colonies.

• Source: 2–3 different colonies.
• Composition: Take 1–2 frames of sealed brood with bees from each colony.
• Structure: In total, the split should have 5–6 frames of brood.

Advantage: Bees from different colonies, combined in a new location, are less likely to fight and accept a new queen very well.

Method 3: Dividing a Colony “On the Fly”

An ideal method for beekeepers who cannot move bees to another apiary site.

1. Move a strong colony in its hive (e.g., blue) 0.5 meters to the side.
2. Place an identical empty hive (also blue) in its original spot.
3. Transfer half of the frames (including the queen or brood with eggs for emergency queen rearing) to the new hive.
4. Flying bees returning from the field will split roughly in half between the two hives.
5. In the queenless hive, the bees will build emergency queen cells, which should be destroyed after 8–9 days and a bred queen introduced.

Method 4: Package Bees (“Artificial Swarm” Technology)

A package is a frameless split – a mass of bees with a queen, most often transported in special shipping boxes.

• Bee mass: Standardly 1.2 kg – 1.5 kg (mostly young individuals).
• Queen: Always fertile, laying, placed in an introduction cage.
• Transport food: About 0.5–1 kg of honey-sugar candy or syrup in a feeder.

How to install a package:

1. In the evening, after the bees have calmed down, prepare a hive with frames of drawn comb and foundation (minimum 4–6 frames).
2. Take out the queen cage, hang it between the frames, and remove the plug from the cage opening (replace it with candy).
3. Pour the bees from the package directly into the hive or in front of the entrance onto a landing board.
4. Crucial feeding: Immediately provide 8–10 kg of sugar syrup (1:1 ratio) to stimulate comb building and brood development.
5. Within 21 days (a worker bee’s development cycle), the package will begin to function as a full-fledged colony.

Creating new colonies using splits and packages is the most economical way to expand an apiary without losing honey harvests, provided the right balance is maintained between the strength of the parent colony and the needs of the new unit.