More tradition I suppose. Didn’t use it this year. Just the way my first teacher did it, and honestly, he even told us he did it so at a distance he could identify who had dividers in and who didn’t., and not really needed for the split itself. I still use it on combines though, and even those you really don’t have to, but I do. Just to be safe. I get comments on my combined all the time telling me I don’t need to, but I still do it. But you are correct on the divider board, it’s fine without it. Notice my divider board is also wide open, different than the ones a lot of people are using now since seeing Bob Binnie’s boards, so it’s just a bit insurance.
WOW here is another older video I had somehow missed watching . I got thinking I have always kept my queen with the original colony an had the split make a new queen. What was I thinking ( not ) . Ya the bees was in a little bit of a tizzy mood . I went around three days ago an added a super to most of my colonies just to give some room now tomorrow I am going back around just to see what the drones are doing because I have FULL boxes . I was hoping I could wait two more weeks before I did splits well I will see how it works out. Maybe it will. Maybe it won’t. Thanks
Yep, you pulled out an old one from when I first started the channel. With the typical double screen split the way myself and Mr. Ed learned, we always moved the queen. It just makes sense for the sheer numbers and how the field bees could augment the queenless hove as they went thru their brood break. I actually have started not moving the queen in a split since using queen cells which ow makes it so that they don’t have as long of a brood break anymore. But the problem I have with not moving her is that where I leave her in the original position, now it’s an issue of them still being too big and I’m still doing swarm control even after the split. There’s more to it for sure and more than I would try to comment on, but I believe moving the queen is a good way to use the split as increase and swarm control.
Thanks for the video. I like your modification to the double screen board to give it an entrance. That's pretty cool and I'll probably mod some of mine that way.
When your bees get really mad (mine do occasionally), how do you get them off of you to get out of your jacket? Mine will chase me for well over a 100 yards and through the woods with thick yaupon and there are times when I just sit down, say 200 yards from the hive, and wait for them to leave (can take 10 minutes or more) so that I can work my way back to the house and change back into to my street clothes.
Well, most of the time when I get half way back to the barn, I might still have one or two buzzing me, even when I have them in a big fuss. I’ve only had one hive in recent years like you’re describing and I requeened it. I gave them three strikes though before I did it.
,"My names Mike and I do bees.... today the bees may do me "😂🤣😂our dark green pollen is blackberry not sure what you all have, when I was down in La Place working ,all I wanted to do was set swarm traps lol
And if you set them there, you’d have a swarm, guaranteed. I will be passing thru there tomorrow heading east to go do an early season cutout. I’m seeing yellow in my area, some green. Never knew blackberry was green, that’s good to know, I always wondered. Blackberry and blue berry are still a couple weeks off for us.
For brood boxes, absolutely. Bulk them up. But when feeding, you’re simulating a nectar flow, so feeding appropriately is very important in not inducing a swarm.
Mike do you use drone foundations at all? I put drone foundation in because they want to build drone comb in between frame and so far they built out the foundation for drones in less then a week . Do you think it is beneficial to use drone foundation?
I don't use them Andrew. I don't mind the drone brood and it usually diminishes by summer for the most part. I could use it for fighting mites, but for me it's just another expense.
Hi Mike, just a quick question, when you do this vertical split is it to expand your colonies or do you rejoin them for the main nectar flow. Regards Michael
Michael, both, depending on what I am doing and how the split is going. Also on how many hives I have. Mostly though, it's for increase. It's a very forgiving split and versatile. It also yields warmth between the colonies. The splits I did with those boards during this last freeze into the 20's and I had zero chilled brood!
Hi Mike, just found your channel and subscribed. I envy you southern guys this time of year, but not when it gets hot. lol Those hives are bustin it for sure. They were pretty peeved at you. Probably the morning rain had something to do with it. When I post a video like this, I get lots of comments to kill the queen and get rid of the aggressive bees. lol Nice job done on the vertical splits sir. Take care.
Yea, I won't kill a queen too quickly. Some folks don't understand that sometimes you're going to have some aggression when you go in at certain times. They get three strikes and those have to be some really bad days and only if they're highly aggressive on good days. Then I will consider re-queening.
All depends Papa Bee. If you have a heavy flow coming soon, chances not so good. But if it is still 8 weeks or so away, then at least one box will do good for the flow. But here are the variables for both to make honey. How will you requeen. If it’s a walkaway, it’s 5 weeks to have a laying queen and then you need about 4 to 6 weeks for her to build the work force. If you leave the original queen in the other box in the same location, they will build fast and make honey. If you move her, still will build, but she loses all her field bees at the time of the split. But still, they build fast enough you should have the work force to get the honey. In the other box if you choose to use a mated queen to requeen, your chance are a lot better for that box if she’s accepted because she begins immediately to build up that work force. If you use a queen cell, You have two weeks for her to begin laying and the she begins to build her work force. Many variables, and people forget, including me when I first got serious, that even though you have a queen, we always need to remember new queens have to start laying and from egg to worker is three weeks. Timing and knowing how long it takes to make bees is so important to include in your goals and plans. Lots of variables. The original box and queen left in the old location, that half of the split should make the honey.
Wouldn't think you use news paper trick with double screen board .. Need some of my friendly genetics down there .. I work mine at night most of the time without protection with white light
The newspaper on the double screen is something our mentor taught us and in the end it really is fine without. But it’s habit now and does guarantee the pheromone split. My friend in Florida does those splits without it and he does just fine. Our mentor actually told me one time the main reason was so he could see at a distance who had been split since he had a couple hundred hives. As far as gentle bees, I think I also work them a little rough, but I’d be happy to have some of those genetics you speak of. It’s so hot in that jacket, I could do well with a more gentle bee...
It's just an added guarantee of the pheromone split for a few days. It can be done without it, but it's just how I was taught and I tend to be a creature of habit. Thanks for the comment.
Yes, exactly. The idea is to be sure the bees cannot touch. With using plywood or 1X lumber, the screen on both sides creates a 3/4" space and the bees will share the heat, yet the box without the queen will still sense the queenlessness.
I do rotate boxes. But not that soon prior to the split. I do it 6 weeks prior. That gives me a second round of brood by the time I split and more young bees to offset some of the old winter bees. Thanks for the comment!!
Well, it’s habit for me. I just do it as an added measure to be sure I trigger the the queenless hive to make cells. Will it work without?? Yes, it does. I’m just a creature of habit, but I’ve done it without.
Yeah 8th april 21 my bees wanted to get mad also dont know why went to apiary a bit early to give them one round of ox-acid vapor for the spring i here you dont really need to in the spring but just one round to be on the safe side of thing i dont think it will hurt them i had a very high mite count last october knocked them down got through winter. I made them mad today and could be that the flow is starting here so might have been a combination of both hope in a few days they realize i was only look out for there health
She doesn’t have to. But with the way I’m doing those splits, I planned to move her. So since all the field bees go back to the bottom, I want the hive that will have less bees to have the queen since that will allow them to continue growing as the bottom will still have about five weeks before there is a new laying queen. If she was in bottom, then the queenless half, the top in that case, would lose so many bees by being in the new position, and as bees die off in that half, they wouldn’t be replenished since they’d be waiting around for a new queen. The new queen needs a lot of Royal jelly and feeding the first few days, so I want the queenless side to be packed.
No, but i have always done it. Don’t need it for combines either, but people do it anyhow. So it’s a personal preference. People are taught different ways and I try to respect that.
Great video!!!
Thanks you and thanks for watching!!
Thank you and thanks for watching!!
Mike, So why the newspaper when using the DSB? Seems like the DSB by itself would be good enough.
More tradition I suppose.
Didn’t use it this year.
Just the way my first teacher did it, and honestly, he even told us he did it so at a distance he could identify who had dividers in and who didn’t., and not really needed for the split itself. I still use it on combines though, and even those you really don’t have to, but I do. Just to be safe. I get comments on my combined all the time telling me I don’t need to, but I still do it. But you are correct on the divider board, it’s fine without it. Notice my divider board is also wide open, different than the ones a lot of people are using now since seeing Bob Binnie’s boards, so it’s just a bit insurance.
WOW here is another older video I had somehow missed watching . I got thinking I have always kept my queen with the original colony an had the split make a new queen. What was I thinking ( not ) . Ya the bees was in a little bit of a tizzy mood . I went around three days ago an added a super to most of my colonies just to give some room now tomorrow I am going back around just to see what the drones are doing because I have FULL boxes . I was hoping I could wait two more weeks before I did splits well I will see how it works out. Maybe it will. Maybe it won’t. Thanks
Yep, you pulled out an old one from when I first started the channel. With the typical double screen split the way myself and Mr. Ed learned, we always moved the queen. It just makes sense for the sheer numbers and how the field bees could augment the queenless hove as they went thru their brood break. I actually have started not moving the queen in a split since using queen cells which ow makes it so that they don’t have as long of a brood break anymore. But the problem I have with not moving her is that where I leave her in the original position, now it’s an issue of them still being too big and I’m still doing swarm control even after the split. There’s more to it for sure and more than I would try to comment on, but I believe moving the queen is a good way to use the split as increase and swarm control.
Thanks for the video. I like your modification to the double screen board to give it an entrance. That's pretty cool and I'll probably mod some of mine that way.
Thanks for watching!! Yep, I like them pretty well.
@@MikeBarryBees My pleasure. privatebubba sent me the link. He's helping this gump out a lot. ((-:
I always did think that bees want to read about global warming and the stock market lol
LOL!
When your bees get really mad (mine do occasionally), how do you get them off of you to get out of your jacket? Mine will chase me for well over a 100 yards and through the woods with thick yaupon and there are times when I just sit down, say 200 yards from the hive, and wait for them to leave (can take 10 minutes or more) so that I can work my way back to the house and change back into to my street clothes.
Well, most of the time when I get half way back to the barn, I might still have one or two buzzing me, even when I have them in a big fuss. I’ve only had one hive in recent years like you’re describing and I requeened it. I gave them three strikes though before I did it.
like a big ole bear going in there. lol!!! Girls are getting mad.
Sometimes it just bees that way 😂😂😂
,"My names Mike and I do bees.... today the bees may do me "😂🤣😂our dark green pollen is blackberry not sure what you all have, when I was down in La Place working ,all I wanted to do was set swarm traps lol
And if you set them there, you’d have a swarm, guaranteed. I will be passing thru there tomorrow heading east to go do an early season cutout. I’m seeing yellow in my area, some green. Never knew blackberry was green, that’s good to know, I always wondered. Blackberry and blue berry are still a couple weeks off for us.
@@MikeBarryBees your area has to be about this greatest place for bees,I really liked it down there I was actually working in Norco.. Take care
Great job Mike!! If both supers are light on honey could one just add a feeder frame to both?? Thank you!
For brood boxes, absolutely. Bulk them up. But when feeding, you’re simulating a nectar flow, so feeding appropriately is very important in not inducing a swarm.
@@MikeBarryBees WOW...thank you so much
Mike do you use drone foundations at all? I put drone foundation in because they want to build drone comb in between frame and so far they built out the foundation for drones in less then a week . Do you think it is beneficial to use drone foundation?
I don't use them Andrew. I don't mind the drone brood and it usually diminishes by summer for the most part. I could use it for fighting mites, but for me it's just another expense.
Hi Mike, just a quick question, when you do this vertical split is it to expand your colonies or do you rejoin them for the main nectar flow.
Regards Michael
Michael, both, depending on what I am doing and how the split is going. Also on how many hives I have. Mostly though, it's for increase. It's a very forgiving split and versatile. It also yields warmth between the colonies. The splits I did with those boards during this last freeze into the 20's and I had zero chilled brood!
Hi Mike, just found your channel and subscribed. I envy you southern guys this time of year, but not when it gets hot. lol Those hives are bustin it for sure. They were pretty peeved at you. Probably the morning rain had something to do with it. When I post a video like this, I get lots of comments to kill the queen and get rid of the aggressive bees. lol Nice job done on the vertical splits sir. Take care.
Yea, I won't kill a queen too quickly. Some folks don't understand that sometimes you're going to have some aggression when you go in at certain times. They get three strikes and those have to be some really bad days and only if they're highly aggressive on good days. Then I will consider re-queening.
Great video Mike. I’ve got a loaded double deep that I believe I need to split. If I split, what’s the chances of getting honey off both deeps?
All depends Papa Bee. If you have a heavy flow coming soon, chances not so good. But if it is still 8 weeks or so away, then at least one box will do good for the flow. But here are the variables for both to make honey. How will you requeen. If it’s a walkaway, it’s 5 weeks to have a laying queen and then you need about 4 to 6 weeks for her to build the work force. If you leave the original queen in the other box in the same location, they will build fast and make honey. If you move her, still will build, but she loses all her field bees at the time of the split. But still, they build fast enough you should have the work force to get the honey. In the other box if you choose to use a mated queen to requeen, your chance are a lot better for that box if she’s accepted because she begins immediately to build up that work force. If you use a queen cell, You have two weeks for her to begin laying and the she begins to build her work force. Many variables, and people forget, including me when I first got serious, that even though you have a queen, we always need to remember new queens have to start laying and from egg to worker is three weeks. Timing and knowing how long it takes to make bees is so important to include in your goals and plans. Lots of variables. The original box and queen left in the old location, that half of the split should make the honey.
@@MikeBarryBees thanks Buddy. My intention is to get a mated queen and introduce her to the split box. Both boxes are full now.
@@MikeBarryBees I
Wouldn't think you use news paper trick with double screen board .. Need some of my friendly genetics down there .. I work mine at night most of the time without protection with white light
The newspaper on the double screen is something our mentor taught us and in the end it really is fine without. But it’s habit now and does guarantee the pheromone split. My friend in Florida does those splits without it and he does just fine. Our mentor actually told me one time the main reason was so he could see at a distance who had been split since he had a couple hundred hives. As far as gentle bees, I think I also work them a little rough, but I’d be happy to have some of those genetics you speak of. It’s so hot in that jacket, I could do well with a more gentle bee...
Ill ship you some this spring give them a try ... I dont start mating till may
Why do you put newspaper under screened bottom board if bees can’t touch and share pheromone?
It's just an added guarantee of the pheromone split for a few days. It can be done without it, but it's just how I was taught and I tend to be a creature of habit. Thanks for the comment.
When you say double screened bottom board; does it have 2 layers of screen? One on bottom and one on top to keep them apart?
Yes, exactly. The idea is to be sure the bees cannot touch. With using plywood or 1X lumber, the screen on both sides creates a 3/4" space and the bees will share the heat, yet the box without the queen will still sense the queenlessness.
With this type of covers won’t rain inside ?
Try rotating the boxes 7 to 10 day before split. That way you'll get more even brood in both boxes.
I do rotate boxes. But not that soon prior to the split. I do it 6 weeks prior. That gives me a second round of brood by the time I split and more young bees to offset some of the old winter bees. Thanks for the comment!!
@@MikeBarryBees think about if a queen laying 1500 to 2000 eggs aday. I agree it be best to rotate twice before the split 7 to 10 days apart.
I can get onboard with that. I’ll see how it plays out next spring.
Hello Mike, If using double screen board,why use the paper?just curious. Thank You 🙏
Well, it’s habit for me. I just do it as an added measure to be sure I trigger the the queenless hive to make cells. Will it work without?? Yes, it does. I’m just a creature of habit, but I’ve done it without.
Yeah 8th april 21 my bees wanted to get mad also dont know why went to apiary a bit early to give them one round of ox-acid vapor for the spring i here you dont really need to in the spring but just one round to be on the safe side of thing i dont think it will hurt them i had a very high mite count last october knocked them down got through winter. I made them mad today and could be that the flow is starting here so might have been a combination of both hope in a few days they realize i was only look out for there health
Why does the queen need to be in top split?
She doesn’t have to. But with the way I’m doing those splits, I planned to move her. So since all the field bees go back to the bottom, I want the hive that will have less bees to have the queen since that will allow them to continue growing as the bottom will still have about five weeks before there is a new laying queen. If she was in bottom, then the queenless half, the top in that case, would lose so many bees by being in the new position, and as bees die off in that half, they wouldn’t be replenished since they’d be waiting around for a new queen. The new queen needs a lot of Royal jelly and feeding the first few days, so I want the queenless side to be packed.
Mike Barry , thanks for all the great info.
why did you put the paper under the divider board
Split the pheromones for a couple days. It actually works without the paper, but I'm a creature of habit I suppose. Thanks for the question!!
Don't need the newspaper with double screen
No, but i have always done it. Don’t need it for combines either, but people do it anyhow. So it’s a personal preference. People are taught different ways and I try to respect that.