Everytime i feel like I'm ready to start, more info is presented. So overwhelmed at times. Been learning for two years. If there wasn't such a big start up cost I'd just learn as I go. But I dont want to mess up.
Beekeeping is one of those things you just have to dive in to. If you wait until you think you know enough you'll miss some of the fun. I guarantee you will mess something up. After forty years I still mess up sometimes. Just go with the flow and don't let the failures bother you too much. That is where you will learn the most. I wish you good luck.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thank you for the encouraging words and for all that you do. I appreciate the enormous amount of time and information you've shared with us. It's invaluable for folks like me who don't have people around them that they can apprentice off of. Hope you have a great weekend. -Grant from Hamilton, Ontario.
I would totally agree. Everyone messes up and you just have to learn from it. There’s no better way to learn than actually diving right in and doing something.
Alot of beekeeping knowledge that you acquire is just different methods, similarly to how humans are different coloured but all the same. Same as beekeepers, different methods but the same result. You just decide on what method resonates with you and your ability, methodology and understanding. I've been beekeeping since a kid on and off, am 50 now and still also stuff up my routine sometimes... I can't keep bees commercially anymore because I prefer not crunching bees which means slower methods of frame handling etc and with only 3 hives now I went Flow. Big jump from 120 hives back in the day to sitting and connecting to my girls each day, opening up every 2nd day, so even the field force won't head butt you anymore. But Bob is one the best I've watched, you have an excellent mentor.
I've watched this so many times. Finally made it a class making notes of the steps so I wouldn't forget anything out in the yard. Thanks for the knowledge you share Bob.
I was just re-setting it to the beginning to rewatch, and your comment popped up. Same thing here. Sometimes it's good to be inventive, but sometimes it's not necessary to be reinventing the wheel.
I can see Bob has spent his life rearing bees’s, so have so many other beekeepers, but others don’t tell you how to stop a swarm, Also learning how to multiply your stock via Queen rearing, I have learnt a lot from Bobs videos, But you have to keep reinventing the wheel or you would be driving your car with model T wheels, compered to this last 2 years of reading and studying beekeeping I have learnt more out of the box with Bob than what is standard knowledge, the way the western countries keep bees is different to how the eastern countries keep them especially the colder climates, having the knowledge to stop swarming using a double board and when to treat has changed the way I think, But flintstone Jon will not reinvent the wheel anytime soon lol
Mickey... You've taken my "reinventing the wheel" comment out of the context that it was intended. I follow Bob's stuff so that "I" don't have to reinvent the wheel. Bob's already done that for me.
Thanks. We use double screen boards for all kinds of stuff. We always keep some on the truck during the active season. Splitting swarmed colonies, starting nucs above to requeen with, overwintering breeder queens, etc.
I am memorizing this. I have made some double screen boards and I am trying it next spring. I hate not to "like" it but I sometimes watch on my television, iphone and computer, so I can't like every time I have watched. from me you should have dozens more likes than RUclips knows about. LOL Thank you.
I did a replay of this video today, this is the best split/nuc video ever. The info about day 4 is so very good, to take down cells capped around day 4. Love this video once more.
Your a very patient and smart man. Great teacher. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I'm glad I found you and will recommend you to my friends. Thanks,Chris
@@bobbinnie9872 Thank you for share You are a true artist when it come to bees I'm interested in the internal bee feeder if you could point me in the right direction to obtain one it would be greatly appreciated thank you again
I am using one of your double screen boards that purchased from your store last winter to do a split also I’ve started with two packages i will have 9 colonies tomorrow when i install a queen cell in a nuc above a double screen board and in my second year of beekeeping haven’t lost a colony because of all of your u-tube videos. Thank you very much. And your sourwood honey is awesome!!!!!!
Hi Bob. Like many others I have watched this particular video of yours more times than I can count. I built a couple double screen boards, but considering making many more to expand their use next year. I’d like to read your comments about a change I propose to make to your process as to where the queen goes when the split occurs. This year is an example of how my replacement queens arrived one or two weeks later than the decision for many of my colonies to swarm here at 2200 feet elevation in the mountains of southwest Virginia. The swarm decision occurred in early April, and the queens arrived in mid April. I’m not a big operation and so it impacts me greatly when a significant percentage of my 1 yr old productive queens and workers hit the trees despite doing all I know to relieve congestion. In retrospect I wish that at about 1 April, I had split out nucs using those queens, and let the mother colonies start queen cells. Then I could decide weeks later, when my replacement queens arrive, where to use them. Depending on timing, I may let some of the new queens they made themselves carry on. Please comment on my idea of moving the marked queen into the nucs being created above the double screen board around April Fools’ Day (so hopefully I’ll be less of a fool). Pros and cons? Anything I’m perhaps not thinking of? Thanks for all the help I have received from your videos in the past.
Hi Randall. That could definitely work. If I did that I would go back in four days if I had the time and remove all cells that were sealed and leave two of the best unsealed. This would eliminate any cells started from older larvae and with only two cells there wouldn't be multiple virgin queen secondary swarms. Usually with only two cells they don't do it at all. I would also feed a steady but moderate flow of thin sucrose syrup if there isn't a flow which seems to help with queen quality. Of course make sure that current year pollen is present. When all is done you could unit both parts and have a new queen and a great colony.
Thanks for taking the time to teach others. I am a new beekeeper and really enjoy your videos. I just finished up a double screed board and am looking forward to trying it out. At 76 my eyes aren’t what they used to be so I will definitely use your method of shaking the bees off and using a queen excluder to isolate the queen.
Thanks Bob, this is soooo helpful. This year (even in Cashiers, NC) everything is about three weeks ahead of schedule. I am queen-right, well fed, and kept up with mites and full of happy bees. I'm betting I may have splits mid-late March. I'll be down to visit your store soon. Finally, Seth Hill's channel is great too (and I told him so). Thanks again! Kevin
This video is exactly what I needed. I'm going to be splitting my hives soon as I can feel the time is near, and this is totally helping me square away a step by step plan and checklist to not mess up on my first time. Thank you.
I hope it works well for you. You might also watch our video "Nuc Production and Harvest Using Double Screen Boards" ruclips.net/video/4EyglZd0pAs/видео.html
Thanks for your informative videos Bob. We started using the double screen board last season and they worked great for us. They are available in 8 frame from some suppliers. We use the ones with 3 sides of entrances, accessible to either top or bottom. Great for raising extra queens.
Thanks for introducing me to this device, I’d never heard of it before this video. I cobbled one together from a spare bottom board and was able to utilize a spare queen cell & get back two mated queens from the same colony! Much simpler than breaking down a colony to make a nuc.
I read the title and thought this video might be boring. But now I've learned my lesson: Bob Binnie is NEVER boring, even when talking about double-screen boards.
Hi Bob, I can't say how many times I watched this video. I think you did a great job explaining the method and I can't wait to try it myself this session.
Hi.Thank you v much for the v.I am from Europe, Macedonia.With the Internet the planet is so Small. Over 20 years Ifinished H Shool in New Mexico, US, working with bees and a few years ago I had a job in Canada as profesonal beekeeper in comercial beekeeper (God bless my employers).I am saying this because I got the idea not only for mantality but also for the ideas.Just BRAVOO. I watched a few times yours videos, and with your congludings and advices, you are giving many tips, for splits, selection the quins and etc.In Europe or paticularu in Balkan region, beekeepers do not use much double screen board. Instead using the same advantages of double s.b, when they want to make splits without lusing the crop or make the colony get week, they use the same board but not the double screen. It is called Peletof's method. Also it would be very nice for the beekeepers to see your video, what you announce in the future about cell bilder in the second super. I qoute you:"It works.It remand me of a course I took here:" New Zeland's method of Making a new queens in presens of current actual Queen i the same hive". My email salamovskigoran@gmail.com. Have all of you health, happiness, honey and smiles:) God Bless you. Worm regards from Goran Macedonia.
Bob. We use the double screen divider board a lot in Romania , but we work on bottom Boxes for 1/1 frames always we start colonies in 1/1 big frames .For a stationary apiary we work always on1/1 at bottom. Then storage 3/4 frames in top and then play only with 1/2 if is necessary .....but if you do pastoral ( travel with the bees ) then you work only with 1/1 frames at bottom box and 1/2 frames for storage box to have enough time to cap the honey and to harvest it before you travel to your next place .....in USA everybody run with 3/4 frames or 1/2 frames but in this condition you have the possibility to swarm fast ! Bees need space and they can work so hard to fill out up! I like your videos ....to be frank I start to watch them for about 2 weeks ....a lot to learn from you ! I am a fan of 12 frames boxes because some I can travel with them and some stay home .....I have few portable modules for 32 hives each , so I work on 12 frame box because I can change them in hot bed or cold bed for winter and summer time ....for me works well the detached bottom side so I can change the position of the hive fast for summer time or winter time without to touch the frames ....even if the boxes are with frame holders in all 4 sides .....screen bottom boards also works well for me because I don’t know sometime which one will stay on apiary and which will go in to a modular apiary ....and in module it’s very hot in summer as you know so need ventilation as well use well for Varoua( mites) and fumigation . I can show you a good design topper part for feeder half and screen half easy to add the strop and won’t be robbing at all ( an Austrian invention ) Respect! Lucian
Thank you for your comment. This is very interesting. I have had other comments from Romania wondering why we don't use double screen boards more. Every country seems to be different. Thanks.
Hi Bob, First off thank you for sharing your knowledge. I have a couple of questions for the upcoming spring but first let me paint a picture of what I have going on. I bought two nucs last spring and transferred them into their own 10 frame deep with 5 frames of foundation. After watching videos and reading, I almost immediately started feeding them the sugar water. I also was adding honey bee healthy that I had made following a recipe with tea tree oil, lemongrass, wintergreen, and I think spearmint oil. After several months the 10 frame deeps were 80% built out. I then added a another 10 frame deep on top of each of the original hives. I moved a couple frames of brood and food to the top boxes as well. Fast forward to November and now the top boxes are 90+% full. I was worried about swarming but was told that I do not need to worry about that right now during the winter months but be prepared to handle it quickly come early spring. My original goal was to build out all four of the deeps then split them so I had four colonies. At the same time I would add a queen to the two queen less hives, add a queen excluder to all four hives, then a medium honey super to all four hives so I could start producing honey. Question one, Am I on the right track? Is this method you use in the video a good way to accomplish this? Ultimately you still end up with a double deep so in you video so I am questioning if this type of split will work for what I am trying to accomplish. Second question, what exactly is the honey flow you speak of. Is this a time of the year that the bees are working overtime producing honey? If so, is this normally at the same time each year, spring? Thank you again, Robert
Bob, here in northern Illinois, I too use double screen boards like yours for making splits. I also use the same double screen boards as bottom boards. Two uses. Works good!
My bees are swarming too.But always I have a bunch of trapps with lemon grass on those frames and also a piece of cotton inside of the perforated zip bag .That lemon grass attract the bees,they never go some where else.
Hı Bob great video.İ use this board longer as 20 years here in BELGİUM. We call it Seperator. İts multi functional. İ use it for queen rearing and harvesting royal jelly and also for swarm controlling. But you can also do biotechnical varroa mite treatment. İ can not image an apiary without this double screenboard.
@@bobbinnie9872 its very easy to rearing queens . Must change place off the broodbox and honeybox with the double s screenboard in the midlle. İn the honeybox you put a frame with max. 15 transferd larvas with two frames open brood both side. Shake 3 frame young bees in the honeybox.After 12 days you got 15 very vital queens.
@@bobbinnie9872 if the bees build swarmcells you rotade the broodbox and the honeybox .use double screenboard in the middle. Change one frame honey with a frame open brood. Now the bees gonna build emergency cells in the honeybox. The swarmcells in the broodbox will be destroyed by the bees instictly because all the forager bees are in the honeybox. After 7 days you rotate again. And destroy the emergency cells. So the swarming intence is over and honey flow was good.
Swarm cells do make the best queens. I live in New Zealand and the Beekeepers bible here (Practical Beekeeping in New Zealand) states swarm cells should be destroyed and any queen in a swarm should be replaced but hard won experience has taught me they are the best queens. Natural supercedure queens and swarm queens actually have a royal gene that is not present in queens raised from emergency cells or grafted cells. Never waist a good swarm cell or swarm queen.
Truth seeker ..I agree with you on the Swarm Queens,but I'd love to read more about the Royal Gene Can you help me find that info, I Breed Queens and always wanna know more if it's interesting and that's very interesting
Thank you Bob for sharing. Our season is short making nucs up in the north mid west, temperature-wise and a short intense spring nectar flow. Hard to build them up going into winter. Thanks!
Hi, great video. Note: Im not quite sure but the "Snelgrove board" is a little bit different than this(double screen board) at least what I have seen. It has entrances on both sides, that way during the honey flow you can combine the field force from both colonies and harvest more honey, I think this is the core feature of snelgrove board.
Hi Bob, and thanks for all the great information. I made up nucs above DSBs in July, and introduced beautiful ~10 day old queen cells I had grafted, inside cell protectors. I was feeding the nucs ultra light syrup (~.85:1) as we were in a dearth after seven weeks of drought. In the first round, despite the protectors the nuc colonies found a way to destroy the cell before she emerged and of course created their own ECs in about 1/3 of the cases. The next round of cells about ten days later had only about 33% acceptance! I was heartbroken and disappointed. These were F1 cells grafted from an expensive I. I. breeder queen, with the goal of requeening my small operation with varroa resistant stocking I greatly value your insight and would appreciate hearing any theories you have to explain the abysmal acceptance rate of my cells. Thanks
One question would be, how long was the nuc queenless? I f they had been queenless long enough to start their own cells the acceptance can go down. We do it from time to time when necessary and we do see a difference.
I love listening to you, I dont event do beekeeping but I find it very interesting. Who knows, I might get "stung" and start doing it. I imagine its hard to do in an appartment.
I inserted the protected cells immediately after creating the nucs. I was trying to avoid the extra step of having to wait a few hours to realize they were queenless and then inserting the cell, hence the protector. And I also didn’t want to wait so long as to give them time to get well started with making their own cells.
We do that on occasion too, when we need too, and notice they will still build cells unless yours hatches soon. If they would just follow the plan all would be good. 🤔
Bob, doing your 'split'. In relation to what nectar source are you doing this? Early dandelion bloom, apple bloom, etc.? I think because we all in different zones of plant growth this could be beneficial for a lot of your viewers. I would plan on this when I'm seeing drone which is often just before the dandelion. Plus, for us northerners reminding us to purchase queens ahead of time is important if we're going that route. Great videos as I've said before in your other presentations. This is about the 15th time watching this. It should help with how I perform my splits.
Of course you can split any time conditions are good but the time we do it the most, and find the most benefit, is just before swarming starts. In our area that would be just prior to apple bloom. When mating queens some say you can install ripe cells as soon as your drone larvae are in the purple eye stage but we wait until drones are hatching in abundance. This insures plenty of mature drones for mating.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thanks. The apple bloom was what I was looking for. We have a crazy early flow of something just after the maple. But I don't know what it is. Then the apples come in and swarming starts. I always try to identify blooms of flowers to management of the hives. Now you've given me what I'm looking for.
My problem is my apple tree is about to bloom now(Atlanta metro area). I think I’m going to give it another 2 weeks and have my overly full hives build out comb on my honey supers while they’re producing wax like crazy.
Hi Bob, Loving your videos. Could you please tell me what size the 2 holes are. Thanks in advance. My wife asked if the quietly spoken man realized he was being heard on the other side of the world? Cheers fron New Zeland.
Hi Steve. Our holes are a little larger than 2.75 inch. We use the same hole saw that we use for cutting holes in our lids for feeding with jars that have a 70mm cap. The size of the hole isn't critical as it's simply there to let heat come through from the colony below. Some double screens are entirely covered by screen except for the rim. Please tell your wife the answer is no.
Hi Bob, and thanks, as always for the great information in the videos. Just wanna make sure I’m understanding the process correctly. Would you agree that if the beekeeper can readily find the queen, and knows that she’s in the bottom box, the interim step of shaking all the bees down, and then placing a queen excluder is not necessary. Could I not just create the five frame nuc, which is ultimately going to be in the top box, make sure to shake in enough nurse bees into it, place the DSB over the second deep, and place the newly created nuc on top from the start?
Hi, couple of questions - 1 - are the entrances facing the same way once you have done the divider board? And 2 - can I leave swarm cells to progess in the nuc all the way through this process? I apologise if you have answered this before ... live in Lincolnshire, England, small village called Branston,. Just love your posts .. so informative and make so much sense .. and love you are open to all and every which way! It is the bees that will tell us
Hi Heather. If I'm mating queens I like to have the upper entrance facing backwards to lower the chance of possible confusion for returning virgins. Yes, swarm cells will do nicely and they make good queens.
@@bobbinnie9872 You have made my day! Thank you! And I agree, in my limited experience swarm queens always come good. Currently three hives, want four next year, watch this space! Again, thank you!
Great idea but I want to build a queen castle for the top. I will add your double screen and a super in between the box's. I was thinking of putting 2 nucs on top but I think the castle with your double screen will produce queens faster and can be used as a mating box. once the new queens start to lay I'll put into 6 frame nuc's and over winter them.
Sounds pretty good. We've found that queen cells installed in equipment on top generally have a better success rate than those installed close to ground.
Bob I must commend you on you videos. I have some of your videos multiple times and find them very educational. You mention in this video an article you authored. How can I obtain a copy of the article?
This is a great video, thank you taking the time. I have two questions: 1. How long should I leave the nuc (Top Box) after I insert my store bought queen? 2. Did you place the double screen board opening the same direction as the main hive or 180?
Bob, thank you. I systematically keep two colonies like this, but simply separated by an excluder. The difficulty with this setup is feeding, specifically feeding the bottom colony. Do you do it when there is a natural flow on and 1.5 gallon feeder fill up one time is enough, or do you periodically top off the bottom feeder? If you top off, do you have an estimate of how much/often to promote growth and discourage swarming? Again, I am addressing the needs of the bottom colony.
For starters, we usually don't maintain colonies like this for an extended period during the active season but if we are using this method to make splits repeatedly in the spring we will feed the lower colony each time we split with the 1.5 gallon feeder, which is usually three weeks apart, and once in between unless there is a nectar flow. As far as swarming goes, it's different every season. If the lower colony has plenty of stores and we add back drawn comb after splitting, we may not feed at all because it can promote swarming if the lower colony is still strong. If there is foundation to draw and the lower colony is not too large we will give it repeated feedings, once a week or more.
Thanks for video! I live in Turkey and have about 150 colonies. I will try double screen board next season for my splits. I wonder how long can I hold a split with a queencell on main colony with double screen board? Should I take it away just after mating or can it wait a little more to take advantage of main colony's heat?
Thank You for the info….at what time do you take the nuc off of screen board and how far away from the original hive should it be placed? Can it be kept in close proximity?
We like to wait until bees from the new queen have been hatching for a while, perhaps one week, when placing the nuc in the same yard. This insures that there are some young bees that don't know their way home to the old entrance and will stay put. When doing this the distance doesn't matter.
Hi Don. Nothing fancy. Depending on the strength we want we just put in 200 or 400 ml of lemongrass oil and a cup of Health Pro or Honey B Healthy to help with emulsification in 250 gallons of syrup. We don't use it all the time.
Hi Bob what the measurements of the plastic box ,and measurements of the openering of the shaker box ,is better to bee smaller than 405 mm by505 mm so bees fall better into the brood boxes thank you Bob ,great videos, watch you heaps of times,
I don't have a plastic box nearby to measure as I comment back but I know it is narrower than 405mm. It is slightly less than the inside dimension of a bee box.
Hello Bob! Thanks for all your great videos. Would you be so kind and share your recipe that you use as an alternate to honey B healthy? You said it was lemon grass oil and spearmint oil. How is this used? Thanks
Very very good information. Only difference i see is your double screen board. Here is my question. I totally get your point and makes the most sense. Ok yours has 2 screened holes, why do others i see have the whole board double screened? From what i understand the 2 small screened holes stops them from fighting, but the ones that are all open screened wouldn't that huge screen area make them fight?? Thanks so much !
The ones that are completely screened except for the rim should also be double screen with a space between the two screens. This space is what keeps them from touching each other. Ours with the two 3" holes is just our way of making a more substantial piece of equipment that will not be damaged easily with a lot of handling but still allows plenty of warmth to rise through from the bottom.
@@bobbinnie9872 thank you for the quick reply. Ok i miss understood. I thought you were saying it was 2 3" holez instead of a big open area kept down the fighting. I watch Mr Ed use double screen boards. With huge success also. Again thanks for sharing your information.
Great info! So thankful! I'm not wanting to make a nuc but I do want to split my colony. I'm copying my post from social media hoping you can offer guidance to this 2nd year beekeeper: Sooo. I just did my 2nd hive inspection of the spring and was prepared to do a split. I have one double deep 10 frame hive. Bees on every frame, capped brood, larve, drones and drone brood, the beginning of two queen cups and ample food stores to support the split. I searched 20 frames and only spotted 1 with fresh eggs. I didn't spot the queen. I'm operating on 3 hours of sleep so it could be exhaustion that has me confused. Maybe there was another frame or two? Went back to my top deep to find the frames with eggs and couldn't. But I didn't want to redo all the work I already did. One thing I learned was to find a way to mark frames when I'm looking for something specific. Soooo my question is, what do I do now moving forward? I really think this hive is the perfect candidate for a split but I closed everything up and called it a day. What would you do? ... the funnel seems like a good option 🤔
Hi Colette. I carry a queen marking pen in my pocket and put a small dot on a frame I need to keep track of. Any marker would do. I would probably split that colony but keep in mind I split every colony that I can. The queen cell cups don't mean anything until there is something in them. If you choose to shake bees off of frames as suggested here you can also use an empty bee box as a funnel. If you don't have a queen to start your split off with they can raise their own as long as they have eggs to do it with. Good luck.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thank you! I was a loss of what to do until I saw your video. I think I will try to shake bees off frames and funnel them into the bottom box. Queen excluder for a day and then split the hive of course giving the queen less split a frame of eggs. I'm so glad and thankful for your help!
Bob, one thing I’ve been thinking about. You mentioned that 4 frames of bees will peak in 7-8 weeks. Can you please tell me what you mean by peak? Is that a particular size? Is that dependent on the type of equipment you use?
Hi. I mean it peaks in population. It's kind of a general statement. It assumes conditions are good with plenty of stores or a flow and the queen has plenty of room to lay. We use a double deep brood nest, ten frame equipment. If the queen was restricted to a smaller space the colony would experience peak population sooner.
Thank you for this video, on the top box once you introduce a new queen can you then move the box in the same yard? The queen would mostly have nurse bees so they would stay with her?
I’m thinking about putting a partition in a full deep to make two splits (above the divider board) would there be enough nurse bees to take care of 3 frames of brood on both sides. My main reason for this is to ultimately reduce hives to medium honey supers. Also how many holes are in the jar lids for feed, when I tip buckets at times syrup will flow out the bottom board, thanks for all your information, great videos! Todd
Hi Todd. Yes, two nucs in a deep over a divider board could have three frames of brood with nurse bees. With small nucs we will usually put one to three holes in a jar lid with a two penny nail.
Hi Bob, Thanks again for coming to the SCBA meeting in Florence last weekend. Toward the end of this video, you mention not using queen cells from colonies that swarm very early relative to the rest of the colonies in a given yard. So, what is the best course of action for the early swarming colony to avoid propagating it's genetics? I recently had a colony swarm on Feb 22nd that I had split on 16th! The colony was congested and already building swarm cell on the 16th so I felt like I needed to go ahead and split them even though it was so very early. The colony was configured as a deep plus medium brood chamber. The deep half of the split swarmed. One could maybe argue that they "had an excuse" to swarm due to the congestion. I was able to catch the swarm so I now have three colonies (the swarm plus the two halves of the split). What to do with these bees? Thanks!
If they were much stronger than the rest of your colonies then perhaps they did have an excuse to swarm. That would be something to consider in more ways than one. Do you want colonies that are super strong early? If not you may consider requeening later. If it works in your location maybe they're perfect. If your other colony was just as strong but made no attempt to swarm early that would be better genetics.
Is there a preferred direction to point the entrance to the screen board? Rear of the hive or the front of the hive? Maybe when you pull the screen there is less confusion if it is pointed to the front? Less chance of a cross wind making a draft if they are on the same side also…
With a single lower brood chamber we do our best to have the double screen board entrance pointing towards the rear for the reason you mentioned. With a double lower brood chamber we are not as concerned but will still have the upper entrance towards the rear if convenient.
Thanks Bob, I real enjoy your vids. Can you build a double screen divider board that will support two nucs next to each other and create two 5 frame nuc splits?
Ideally it's best to wait until they have plenty of their own hatching brood if your keeping them in the same yard. If your moving them to a separate yard, simply waiting until the queen is laying well is OK.
Great video Bob. If I use this method to create a new colony (top box). After 3 weeks I check for eggs or queen. Then can I move the top colony anywhere? Or does it have to be moved far away for 2 months?
Once the queen is established we feel comfortable moving it but if we're leaving it in the same yard we like to wait until she has an ample amount of hatching brood and new young bees.
Are there potential problems with using a double screen board that is all screen rather than just the holes you have in yours? The pre-made ones that are available in my area are made with a wood frame and screen covering the whole middle.
Hi Bob I am very thankful for your sharing. I am an hobbist from Italy and I am slowly growing my hives. Now it’s third year and finally arrived to 15 colonies and even if they may seem like a a small number I am very enjoying them and slowly learning things like queen rearing etc. Here I use mainly one brood chamber hives and i was wondering if the principle you explain in this video is still valid. In particular I would follow the same steps you show but using only another deep box on top with the double screen board in between the two boxes (for a total of two boxes instead of three). I Hope you can answer me. Best regards, Michele
I must ask, can't help but to wonder watching some of your videos. I see a lot of your tops w/the hole for a top feeder w/just the lid when you don't have the jar feeding the bees. Do you leave your tops like this all the time? Are the lids punched w/holes to screw a jar onto, or are they solid to pull out, then insert a feeder jar w/it's lid punched? Love your videos and have watched over, and over, and over,
All of our hive lids have a 71mm hole which fits a standard 70g quart jar lid. We leave a one piece metal lid with no holes in when not feeding and take it out when using jars or buckets.
Hey Bob! First off I wanted to thank you for all of these great videos you put out for us to learn from. I think I've dang near watched them all 2 or 3 times!! I'm up in southeast South Dakota and I just started keeping bees last year. And with some luck and a ton of hours on youtube trying to learn, my bees over wintered and look to be very strong. I believe I'm going to need to split my colony and I'd really like to try this method. My question is...Does the split need to be moved in to a nuc box or could in stay in the 10 frame deep with the frames set up the way you show in this video? Thanks again and I hope all is well!!
When we make these nucs for our own use we just leave them in the 10 frame box and move it after it's well established which is after the queen has her own brood hatching.
I have been watching all of your videos the last few days. THANK YOU so much for all of the time and effort you put in to filming, editing, producing and posting your videos and for sharing your four decades of experience. After watching this video (twice) 😊, this makes perfect and wonderful sense and I am going to do this. I created an account on your website, but it appears you do not ship double screen boards. If not, the ones sold by Mann Lake have much larger openings covered by wire - are the larger openings OK? And the second question is - I have telescoping covers. Once the Nuc is set up and the new queen (or cell) is introduced, is it fine to use an internal feeder with the Nuc? Thank you again so much!
Hi Bee Guy. If you call our store at 706 782 6722 they can take an order for double screen boards. Th Mann Lake boards work well also. We only use division board feeders if the nuc or colony is at least four frames of bees. Too many drowning bees with small colonies.
@@bobbinnie9872 I just called and just placed an order for three. Thank you for your response and thank you again so much for all of your wonderful videos! - Guy
Bob been watching your videos for along time and several over and over question for this video when you introduce a queen into the nuc on top can you release a virgin queen or should she be in a cage. Thanks for all the videos great information Carl from Michigan
Raising queen cells….. I would only be raising 5 or 6 cells. Would I put that frame of cells into a queen-less nuc? And I’m pretty sure I witnessed 1 of my queens from a split using your boards… there was a decent cloud of bees above the hives and not orientation flights! Was awesome to witness then bee traffic in & out tripled from the 2 splits!
A queenless nuc should raise 5 or 6 cells well as long as there is proper nutrition and plenty of young nurse bees. We feel that feeding thin sucrose syrup will help anything rearing cells.
@@bobbinnie9872 ok great, it would be fun to try but more importantly I’d rather support my local apiary…. How do you find a great queen breeder? What are the proper questions to ask? Thanks once again Bob!
@@bobbinnie9872 I got 7 colonies, being new, I left all honey supers on the 7 colonies that were 50% capped or less on the hive for a food source til this years honey flow (mostly 50% capped or less) each colony consists of 1 deep and a medium, some have 2 deeps and a honey super. Just pulled apivar strips out for the first honey flow. My buddy’s suggests that I pull ALL supers off to get ready for this first flow. My concern is there’s no telling when Mother Nature decides to turn on the flo…..he wants me to take them all off but during a “light” pollen flow……I’m pulling all apivar off tomm morning. I’m in SWFL I’m the firefighter… Supposed to drop to a low of 43 by Saturday. Thank you once again!
@@Xray.71 Hi Jason. The combination of equipment used is a personal choice usually based on experience. That having been said I would be hesitant to pull all supers off at this point unless the colony population is small. I think you'll have less swarming if they are left with some extra space leading up to the flow.
Hi Bob, I have noticed in your videos that you seem to have selected two colors for your boxes; white and a lite cream yellow. I was wondering how/if you use those two colors in your beekeeping practice. When I assemble deeps that I get from Mann Lake, some of the boards are much more dense than others and I have wondered if being more intentional about pairing the heavier pieces to make boxes that are more dense would be of benefit; using the more weighty boxes as brood chamber boxes and the lighter weight boxes as top boxes. That got me to wondering about your paint scheme and if there was bee keeping intentionality to the two colors more that just a good deal on bulk paint or color preference. Thanks
Hi Dan. I used to use any mislabeled or "mistake" cheap paint I could find which meant lots of colors. I have come to the conclusion that I get the best service out of acrylic latex enamel on top of oil base primer and that type of paint is rarely sold that way. So if I'm buying new paint I choose the colors I want and I mix boxes with the two colors you mentioned because they give the bees a little better orientation (not as good as many colors) and I like how pleasant those two colors look. The light cream is actually a light yellow which I painted my house with.
I have been using the double screen board method for my fall splits 3rd year of using them. I use window screen on two sides of 3/4" board. Funny using window screen as wax moth hatch out in between the screens and can't get out. I rotate upper box 180 degrees with entrance opposite of bottom box. I move existing queen up and place newly mated queen below in the candy plug release cage. This new queen is marked, the existing queen is not. I returned several weeks later and to my surprise the marked queen is in the upper box. There is no queen cage there so I didn't mess up and put the new marked queen into the top box. I slide that box off and inspect the bottom box and the old queen is in the bottom box and so is the queen cage that the marked queen was released from.. They switched boxes on me, There is no path inside of the box and they surely can't squeeze through the window screen. Have you ever seen this?
I am about to get into bee keeping for the first time. I have been devouring your videos. Do you have a written "schedule" for when to do what? Thanks!
Bob I also have frame feeders in all my dbl deeps. How often are you cleaning out the dead bees in the ladders and does it cause any issues if you don’t clean them out? Thanks Ray
Hi Ray. If the ladders have more than a few dead bees in them we do clean them out. It seems like excessive dead bees in the tubes causes issues with the syrup itself and the colonies won't take it as readily. Strong colonies have very little trouble but it can be a problem with smaller colonies. This is on of the reasons why I prefer to feed small colonies from above with jars or buckets.
UK Beekeeper. Bob, I look forward in 2021 in implementing the double screen board idea , which is a little more straight forward in it's application than the snelgrove board as presently used in the UK. Can you confirm as to the placement of the supers while conducting this split. Would you put them below the the bottom brood box while completing this exercise and then replacing them above when completed.
Thank you! I just tried this method yesterday and am excited to see how well it works. I have seen some similar questions already but am hoping you can put my mind at ease. When I rotate the boxes and put the double screened board in place this evening, I would really like the small opening to be on the front and oriented the same way the current entrance is. If I put it on the back and leave it that way, then I won’t be able to see it once I pull the NUC and separate it into its own hive as it will be facing the back fence. These are in my backyard and we enjoy watching them from our patio. Will I mess this up if I place the opening on the front? Also, once I pull the NUC, how far should I place it from the current one that is in place? Any help or suggestions are much appreciated. Thank you for your videos and time!
The front entrance will work. Assuming you'll wait until the nuc has it's own hatching brood and new bees you can move it about anywhere because during the summer there aren't any cold nights and the brood shouldn't chill with the temporary loss of the field force bees.
Thank you! I am in North Texas and it is pouring all day today. Can the boxes sit for an extra day before removing the queen excluder and switching them around?
Thank you! I am in North Texas and it is pouring all day today. Can the boxes sit for an extra day before removing the queen excluder and switching them around?
Great instructional video! If a nuc should fail to make a queen I think you said just remove the double screen board. No need to use newspaper or worry about fighting then?
Generally, we smoke both halves well and no fighting will occur. If you want to be doubly sure a mist of very light sugar syrup or even water will further insure no fighting. I don't care for newspaper because of the mess left to clean up.
Hi Jeff For some reason I can't reply to your latest question from yesterday and can't read it all so I'm using this comment to reply. Small glitch I guess. If you're asking if you can use an existing swarm cell with a double screen board the answer is yes and it would be helpful to let the new start realize it's queenless first by waiting a couple of hours if you have the time. Good luck.
Bobbie. I need your help. Can you put a package of bees in a hive when it’s still freezing at night! Or would you hold onto them and feed them for a few days until it much warmer? Thank you.
It depends on how you introduce them. Shaking them in can be a bit hard on them in freezing weather but if the day temperature warms up early in the day they can get organized before having to cluster at night. Definitely make sure they're in contact with the feed when clustered.
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Everytime i feel like I'm ready to start, more info is presented. So overwhelmed at times. Been learning for two years. If there wasn't such a big start up cost I'd just learn as I go. But I dont want to mess up.
Beekeeping is one of those things you just have to dive in to. If you wait until you think you know enough you'll miss some of the fun. I guarantee you will mess something up. After forty years I still mess up sometimes. Just go with the flow and don't let the failures bother you too much. That is where you will learn the most. I wish you good luck.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thank you for the encouraging words and for all that you do. I appreciate the enormous amount of time and information you've shared with us. It's invaluable for folks like me who don't have people around them that they can apprentice off of. Hope you have a great weekend.
-Grant from Hamilton, Ontario.
I would totally agree. Everyone messes up and you just have to learn from it. There’s no better way to learn than actually diving right in and doing something.
Alot of beekeeping knowledge that you acquire is just different methods, similarly to how humans are different coloured but all the same. Same as beekeepers, different methods but the same result.
You just decide on what method resonates with you and your ability, methodology and understanding.
I've been beekeeping since a kid on and off, am 50 now and still also stuff up my routine sometimes...
I can't keep bees commercially anymore because I prefer not crunching bees which means slower methods of frame handling etc and with only 3 hives now I went Flow. Big jump from 120 hives back in the day to sitting and connecting to my girls each day, opening up every 2nd day, so even the field force won't head butt you anymore.
But Bob is one the best I've watched, you have an excellent mentor.
You learn by messing up
I've watched this so many times. Finally made it a class making notes of the steps so I wouldn't forget anything out in the yard.
Thanks for the knowledge you share Bob.
I can not tell you how many times I have watched this video. So much information!!!THANK YOU BOB!!!
I was just re-setting it to the beginning to rewatch, and your comment popped up.
Same thing here. Sometimes it's good to be inventive, but sometimes it's not necessary to be reinventing the wheel.
I can see Bob has spent his life rearing bees’s, so have so many other beekeepers, but others don’t tell you how to stop a swarm,
Also learning how to multiply your stock via Queen rearing,
I have learnt a lot from Bobs videos,
But you have to keep reinventing the wheel or you would be driving your car with model T wheels, compered to this last 2 years of reading and studying beekeeping I have learnt more out of the box with Bob than what is standard knowledge, the way the western countries keep bees is different to how the eastern countries keep them especially the colder climates, having the knowledge to stop swarming using a double board and when to treat has changed the way I think,
But flintstone Jon will not reinvent the wheel anytime soon lol
Mickey... You've taken my "reinventing the wheel" comment out of the context that it was intended.
I follow Bob's stuff so that "I" don't have to reinvent the wheel. Bob's already done that for me.
The most informative bee rearing,and management lessons of all time....
On 3 time here😅😂
This is kinda like a walk away split with purpose! Very good information on this technique. 👏
Greetings from Turkey, you share great information, I watch with admiration.
I split much the same way, it works very well and it’s quick .
I’ve never seen the double screen board used before. Good stuff
Thanks. We use double screen boards for all kinds of stuff. We always keep some on the truck during the active season. Splitting swarmed colonies, starting nucs above to requeen with, overwintering breeder queens, etc.
Ian, I enjoy your channel very much. Thanks for doing it
Hi Bob
Can you contact me at stepplerfarms@hotmail.com
@@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog if he doesn't see this you should be able to contact via his web page
www.blueridgehoneycompany.com/ contact info
I am memorizing this. I have made some double screen boards and I am trying it next spring. I hate not to "like" it but I sometimes watch on my television, iphone and computer, so I can't like every time I have watched. from me you should have dozens more likes than RUclips knows about. LOL Thank you.
I did a replay of this video today, this is the best split/nuc video ever. The info about day 4 is so very good, to take down cells capped around day 4. Love this video once more.
Thank you.
Your a very patient and smart man. Great teacher. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I'm glad I found you and will recommend you to my friends. Thanks,Chris
Thank you.
@@bobbinnie9872
Thank you for share
You are a true artist when it come to bees
I'm interested in the internal bee feeder if you could point me in the right direction to obtain one it would be greatly appreciated thank you again
Thank you. www.mannlakeltd.com/ item # FD 525
I am using one of your double screen boards that purchased from your store last winter to do a split also I’ve started with two packages i will have 9 colonies tomorrow when i install a queen cell in a nuc above a double screen board and in my second year of beekeeping haven’t lost a colony because of all of your u-tube videos. Thank you very much. And your sourwood honey is awesome!!!!!!
Queen update, I have purchased 4 queens…. I’m happy to say all 4 are accepted and laying! Thank you Bob!!!
Thank you for what you're doing in the mites. We really need something that's affordable and works in the US
Hi Bob. Like many others I have watched this particular video of yours more times than I can count. I built a couple double screen boards, but considering making many more to expand their use next year. I’d like to read your comments about a change I propose to make to your process as to where the queen goes when the split occurs.
This year is an example of how my replacement queens arrived one or two weeks later than the decision for many of my colonies to swarm here at 2200 feet elevation in the mountains of southwest Virginia. The swarm decision occurred in early April, and the queens arrived in mid April. I’m not a big operation and so it impacts me greatly when a significant percentage of my 1 yr old productive queens and workers hit the trees despite doing all I know to relieve congestion. In retrospect I wish that at about 1 April, I had split out nucs using those queens, and let the mother colonies start queen cells. Then I could decide weeks later, when my replacement queens arrive, where to use them. Depending on timing, I may let some of the new queens they made themselves carry on.
Please comment on my idea of moving the marked queen into the nucs being created above the double screen board around April Fools’ Day (so hopefully I’ll be less of a fool). Pros and cons? Anything I’m perhaps not thinking of?
Thanks for all the help I have received from your videos in the past.
Hi Randall. That could definitely work. If I did that I would go back in four days if I had the time and remove all cells that were sealed and leave two of the best unsealed. This would eliminate any cells started from older larvae and with only two cells there wouldn't be multiple virgin queen secondary swarms. Usually with only two cells they don't do it at all. I would also feed a steady but moderate flow of thin sucrose syrup if there isn't a flow which seems to help with queen quality. Of course make sure that current year pollen is present. When all is done you could unit both parts and have a new queen and a great colony.
Thanks for taking the time to teach others. I am a new beekeeper and really enjoy your videos. I just finished up a double screed board and am looking forward to trying it out. At 76 my eyes aren’t what they used to be so I will definitely use your method of shaking the bees off and using a queen excluder to isolate the queen.
Thanks, hope it works well for you.
Excellent video! I will try this tomorrow using queen cups that haven't been sealed. Thank you.
Thanks Bob, this is soooo helpful. This year (even in Cashiers, NC) everything is about three weeks ahead of schedule. I am queen-right, well fed, and kept up with mites and full of happy bees. I'm betting I may have splits mid-late March. I'll be down to visit your store soon. Finally, Seth Hill's channel is great too (and I told him so). Thanks again! Kevin
This video is exactly what I needed.
I'm going to be splitting my hives soon as I can feel the time is near, and this is totally helping me square away a step by step plan and checklist to not mess up on my first time.
Thank you.
That was a must see for any keeper. The rabbit hole just became cavernous!! Lol👍👍👍thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.
I have watched this video about 10 times, and I’m going to watch it 1 more time today before I try it tomorrow!
I hope it works well for you. You might also watch our video "Nuc Production and Harvest Using Double Screen Boards" ruclips.net/video/4EyglZd0pAs/видео.html
Sir, you are the reason I started beekeeping. Thank you. ps. the thumbs down was mine, I hit the wrong button, fixed it.
Thanks for your informative videos Bob. We started using the double screen board last season and they worked great for us. They are available in 8 frame from some suppliers. We use the ones with 3 sides of entrances, accessible to either top or bottom. Great for raising extra queens.
Very useful tool.
THANK YOU BOB FOR SHARING THESE INFORMATIONS. AS A NEWBEE I LEARNED A LOT FROM YOUR VIDEOS. GREETING FROM ALGERIA
Greetings!!
Thanks for introducing me to this device, I’d never heard of it before this video. I cobbled one together from a spare bottom board and was able to utilize a spare queen cell & get back two mated queens from the same colony! Much simpler than breaking down a colony to make a nuc.
We use them all the time.
Thanks. I haven’t started my bee keeping adventure with my own bees yet. I plan on retirement in the Philippines and will buy or catch my bees there.
I read the title and thought this video might be boring. But now I've learned my lesson: Bob Binnie is NEVER boring, even when talking about double-screen boards.
Hi Bob, I can't say how many times I watched this video. I think you did a great job explaining the method and I can't wait to try it myself this session.
Hi.Thank you v much for the v.I am from Europe, Macedonia.With the Internet the planet is so Small. Over 20 years Ifinished H Shool in New Mexico, US, working with bees and a few years ago I had a job in Canada as profesonal beekeeper in comercial beekeeper (God bless my employers).I am saying this because I got the idea not only for mantality but also for the ideas.Just BRAVOO. I watched a few times yours videos, and with your congludings and advices, you are giving many tips, for splits, selection the quins and etc.In Europe or paticularu in Balkan region, beekeepers do not use much double screen board. Instead using the same advantages of double s.b, when they want to make splits without lusing the crop or make the colony get week, they use the same board but not the double screen. It is called Peletof's method. Also it would be very nice for the beekeepers to see your video, what you announce in the future about cell bilder in the second super. I qoute you:"It works.It remand me of a course I took here:" New Zeland's method of Making a new queens in presens of current actual Queen i the same hive". My email salamovskigoran@gmail.com. Have all of you health, happiness, honey and smiles:) God Bless you. Worm regards from Goran Macedonia.
Hi Goran. Thank you for comment and info.
Bob. We use the double screen divider board a lot in Romania , but we work on bottom Boxes for 1/1 frames always we start colonies in 1/1 big frames .For a stationary apiary we work always on1/1 at bottom. Then storage 3/4 frames in top and then play only with 1/2 if is necessary .....but if you do pastoral ( travel with the bees ) then you work only with 1/1 frames at bottom box and 1/2 frames for storage box to have enough time to cap the honey and to harvest it before you travel to your next place .....in USA everybody run with 3/4 frames or 1/2 frames but in this condition you have the possibility to swarm fast ! Bees need space and they can work so hard to fill out up! I like your videos ....to be frank I start to watch them for about 2 weeks ....a lot to learn from you ! I am a fan of 12 frames boxes because some I can travel with them and some stay home .....I have few portable modules for 32 hives each , so I work on 12 frame box because I can change them in hot bed or cold bed for winter and summer time ....for me works well the detached bottom side so I can change the position of the hive fast for summer time or winter time without to touch the frames ....even if the boxes are with frame holders in all 4 sides .....screen bottom boards also works well for me because I don’t know sometime which one will stay on apiary and which will go in to a modular apiary ....and in module it’s very hot in summer as you know so need ventilation as well use well for Varoua( mites) and fumigation . I can show you a good design topper part for feeder half and screen half easy to add the strop and won’t be robbing at all ( an Austrian invention ) Respect! Lucian
Thank you for your comment. This is very interesting. I have had other comments from Romania wondering why we don't use double screen boards more. Every country seems to be different. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing this video! I'm a second year beekeeper and I feel like I've learned a lot from this! I still have a lot to learn though. 👍😁
Thanks, it's a fun journey.
One of my favorite honey bee videos!
Very good explanation, not confusing at all. Great stuff!
Thank you
Brilliant! Great video. I watched 4 times already. I can believe it never cross my mind to use
This method.
Glad you liked it.
You’ve just doubled your odds! I’m a fan of your math and your videos!
Thanks.
Thanks Bob. That was was it. I'm doing that this weekend. Your videos have helped quite a lot.
Thanks.
Thanks Bob. Made six of these as a trial run this March. Works great!
Hi Jay. Thanks for the comment
Hi Bob, First off thank you for sharing your knowledge. I have a couple of questions for the upcoming spring but first let me paint a picture of what I have going on. I bought two nucs last spring and transferred them into their own 10 frame deep with 5 frames of foundation. After watching videos and reading, I almost immediately started feeding them the sugar water. I also was adding honey bee healthy that I had made following a recipe with tea tree oil, lemongrass, wintergreen, and I think spearmint oil. After several months the 10 frame deeps were 80% built out. I then added a another 10 frame deep on top of each of the original hives. I moved a couple frames of brood and food to the top boxes as well. Fast forward to November and now the top boxes are 90+% full. I was worried about swarming but was told that I do not need to worry about that right now during the winter months but be prepared to handle it quickly come early spring. My original goal was to build out all four of the deeps then split them so I had four colonies. At the same time I would add a queen to the two queen less hives, add a queen excluder to all four hives, then a medium honey super to all four hives so I could start producing honey. Question one, Am I on the right track? Is this method you use in the video a good way to accomplish this? Ultimately you still end up with a double deep so in you video so I am questioning if this type of split will work for what I am trying to accomplish. Second question, what exactly is the honey flow you speak of. Is this a time of the year that the bees are working overtime producing honey? If so, is this normally at the same time each year, spring? Thank you again, Robert
Bob, here in northern Illinois, I too use double screen boards like yours for making splits. I also use the same double screen boards as bottom boards. Two uses. Works good!
We seem to end up with double screen boards being used as bottom boards too. Thanks for the comment.
Also in Serbia we call it Snegler's board but it is mostly used by beekeepers with LR hive.
Brilliant idea my friend and thank you for sharing. Glad you uploaded this one. I totally get the concept
Thanks again.
Thank you so much!! This is so helpful and will be sharing with our bee club❤!!
I’ve got mine going right now. I really appreciate all that you share.
I learn so much from you, thank you Bob!
My bees are swarming too.But always I have a bunch of trapps with lemon grass on those frames and also a piece of cotton inside of the perforated zip bag .That lemon grass attract the bees,they never go some where else.
Hı Bob great video.İ use this board longer as 20 years here in BELGİUM. We call it Seperator. İts multi functional. İ use it for queen rearing and harvesting royal jelly and also for swarm controlling. But you can also do biotechnical varroa mite treatment.
İ can not image an apiary without this double screenboard.
I am surprised that these devices are not utilized more in this country.
@@bobbinnie9872 its very easy to rearing queens . Must change place off the broodbox and honeybox with the double s screenboard in the midlle. İn the honeybox you put a frame with max. 15 transferd larvas with two frames open brood both side. Shake 3 frame young bees in the honeybox.After 12 days you got 15 very vital queens.
So you dont need starter or finisher.
@@bobbinnie9872 if the bees build swarmcells you rotade the broodbox and the honeybox .use double screenboard in the middle. Change one frame honey with a frame open brood. Now the bees gonna build emergency cells in the honeybox. The swarmcells in the broodbox will be destroyed by the bees instictly because all the forager bees are in the honeybox. After 7 days you rotate again. And destroy the emergency cells.
So the swarming intence is over and honey flow was good.
Wow! So MUCH great information in this video! Thank you!
Awesome video, so well explained and understood
I modified my triangular bee escape to be a double screen board. It also.its a Multi Tasker now.
Thank you, Master Binnie!
Swarm cells do make the best queens. I live in New Zealand and the Beekeepers bible here (Practical Beekeeping in New Zealand) states swarm cells should be destroyed and any queen in a swarm should be replaced but hard won experience has taught me they are the best queens. Natural supercedure queens and swarm queens actually have a royal gene that is not present in queens raised from emergency cells or grafted cells. Never waist a good swarm cell or swarm queen.
Thank you
Truth seeker ..I agree with you on the Swarm Queens,but I'd love to read more about the Royal Gene Can you help me find that info, I Breed Queens and always wanna know more if it's interesting and that's very interesting
100%truth (hello from serbia)
Terrific stuff well presented thanks from an ancient Aussie beek
Thank you.
Thank you Bob for sharing. Our season is short making nucs up in the north mid west, temperature-wise and a short intense spring nectar flow. Hard to build them up going into winter. Thanks!
Thanks for the comment.
Hi, great video. Note: Im not quite sure but the "Snelgrove board" is a little bit different than this(double screen board) at least what I have seen. It has entrances on both sides, that way during the honey flow you can combine the field force from both colonies and harvest more honey, I think this is the core feature of snelgrove board.
You are correct. We accomplish somewhat the same thing by lifting the board and shifting the entrance from one end to the other.
Hi Bob, and thanks for all the great information.
I made up nucs above DSBs in July, and introduced beautiful ~10 day old queen cells I had grafted, inside cell protectors. I was feeding the nucs ultra light syrup (~.85:1) as we were in a dearth after seven weeks of drought.
In the first round, despite the protectors the nuc colonies found a way to destroy the cell before she emerged and of course created their own ECs in about 1/3 of the cases. The next round of cells about ten days later had only about 33% acceptance! I was heartbroken and disappointed. These were F1 cells grafted from an expensive I. I. breeder queen, with the goal of requeening my small operation with varroa resistant stocking
I greatly value your insight and would appreciate hearing any theories you have to explain the abysmal acceptance rate of my cells.
Thanks
One question would be, how long was the nuc queenless? I f they had been queenless long enough to start their own cells the acceptance can go down. We do it from time to time when necessary and we do see a difference.
I love listening to you, I dont event do beekeeping but I find it very interesting. Who knows, I might get "stung" and start doing it. I imagine its hard to do in an appartment.
You could always find a spot on someone else's property.
I inserted the protected cells immediately after creating the nucs. I was trying to avoid the extra step of having to wait a few hours to realize they were queenless and then inserting the cell, hence the protector. And I also didn’t want to wait so long as to give them time to get well started with making their own cells.
We do that on occasion too, when we need too, and notice they will still build cells unless yours hatches soon. If they would just follow the plan all would be good. 🤔
Thank you for all the good advice. 👍
👍
I just love your videos! Love from România! 🤗
👍Thank you.
Bob, doing your 'split'. In relation to what nectar source are you doing this? Early dandelion bloom, apple bloom, etc.? I think because we all in different zones of plant growth this could be beneficial for a lot of your viewers. I would plan on this when I'm seeing drone which is often just before the dandelion.
Plus, for us northerners reminding us to purchase queens ahead of time is important if we're going that route.
Great videos as I've said before in your other presentations.
This is about the 15th time watching this. It should help with how I perform my splits.
Of course you can split any time conditions are good but the time we do it the most, and find the most benefit, is just before swarming starts. In our area that would be just prior to apple bloom. When mating queens some say you can install ripe cells as soon as your drone larvae are in the purple eye stage but we wait until drones are hatching in abundance. This insures plenty of mature drones for mating.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thanks. The apple bloom was what I was looking for. We have a crazy early flow of something just after the maple. But I don't know what it is. Then the apples come in and swarming starts. I always try to identify blooms of flowers to management of the hives. Now you've given me what I'm looking for.
My problem is my apple tree is about to bloom now(Atlanta metro area). I think I’m going to give it another 2 weeks and have my overly full hives build out comb on my honey supers while they’re producing wax like crazy.
Verry interresting. Tks from Brz
Hi Bob, Loving your videos. Could you please tell me what size the 2 holes are. Thanks in advance. My wife asked if the quietly spoken man realized he was being heard on the other side of the world? Cheers fron New Zeland.
Hi Steve. Our holes are a little larger than 2.75 inch. We use the same hole saw that we use for cutting holes in our lids for feeding with jars that have a 70mm cap. The size of the hole isn't critical as it's simply there to let heat come through from the colony below. Some double screens are entirely covered by screen except for the rim. Please tell your wife the answer is no.
Hi Bob, and thanks, as always for the great information in the videos.
Just wanna make sure I’m understanding the process correctly. Would you agree that if the beekeeper can readily find the queen, and knows that she’s in the bottom box, the interim step of shaking all the bees down, and then placing a queen excluder is not necessary. Could I not just create the five frame nuc, which is ultimately going to be in the top box, make sure to shake in enough nurse bees into it, place the DSB over the second deep, and place the newly created nuc on top from the start?
Yes, that's correct.
Hi, couple of questions -
1 - are the entrances facing the same way once you have done the divider board?
And 2 - can I leave swarm cells to progess in the nuc all the way through this process?
I apologise if you have answered this before ... live in Lincolnshire, England, small village called Branston,.
Just love your posts .. so informative and make so much sense .. and love you are open to all and every which way!
It is the bees that will tell us
Hi Heather. If I'm mating queens I like to have the upper entrance facing backwards to lower the chance of possible confusion for returning virgins. Yes, swarm cells will do nicely and they make good queens.
@@bobbinnie9872 You have made my day! Thank you! And I agree, in my limited experience swarm queens always come good. Currently three hives, want four next year, watch this space! Again, thank you!
Great idea but I want to build a queen castle for the top. I will add your double screen and a super in between the box's. I was thinking of putting 2 nucs on top but I think the castle with your double screen will produce queens faster and can be used as a mating box. once the new queens start to lay I'll put into 6 frame nuc's and over winter them.
Sounds pretty good. We've found that queen cells installed in equipment on top generally have a better success rate than those installed close to ground.
Bob I must commend you on you videos. I have some of your videos multiple times and find them very educational.
You mention in this video an article you authored. How can I obtain a copy of the article?
Thanks, www.beeculture.com/why-we-produce-nucs-and-how-we-do-it
This is a great video, thank you taking the time. I have two questions: 1. How long should I leave the nuc (Top Box) after I insert my store bought queen? 2. Did you place the double screen board opening the same direction as the main hive or 180?
I like to leave the nuc on top at least until her own bees are hatching. The entrance works both ways but I prefer 180 when possible.
Bob, thank you. I systematically keep two colonies like this, but simply separated by an excluder. The difficulty with this setup is feeding, specifically feeding the bottom colony. Do you do it when there is a natural flow on and 1.5 gallon feeder fill up one time is enough, or do you periodically top off the bottom feeder? If you top off, do you have an estimate of how much/often to promote growth and discourage swarming? Again, I am addressing the needs of the bottom colony.
For starters, we usually don't maintain colonies like this for an extended period during the active season but if we are using this method to make splits repeatedly in the spring we will feed the lower colony each time we split with the 1.5 gallon feeder, which is usually three weeks apart, and once in between unless there is a nectar flow. As far as swarming goes, it's different every season. If the lower colony has plenty of stores and we add back drawn comb after splitting, we may not feed at all because it can promote swarming if the lower colony is still strong. If there is foundation to draw and the lower colony is not too large we will give it repeated feedings, once a week or more.
VERY GOOD .. Thanks For Sharing
Thanks again, Bob
Thanks for video!
I live in Turkey and have about 150 colonies. I will try double screen board next season for my splits.
I wonder how long can I hold a split with a queencell on main colony with double screen board? Should I take it away just after mating or can it wait a little more to take advantage of main colony's heat?
If it is not too large it can stay for a month and will grow faster with the heat from below.
Thank You for the info….at what time do you take the nuc off of screen board and how far away from the original hive should it be placed? Can it be kept in close proximity?
We like to wait until bees from the new queen have been hatching for a while, perhaps one week, when placing the nuc in the same yard. This insures that there are some young bees that don't know their way home to the old entrance and will stay put. When doing this the distance doesn't matter.
You say in this video that you mix up your own lemongrass i believed I wish you would do a video with that recipe thank you for your time
Hi Don. Nothing fancy. Depending on the strength we want we just put in 200 or 400 ml of lemongrass oil and a cup of Health Pro or Honey B Healthy to help with emulsification in 250 gallons of syrup. We don't use it all the time.
@@bobbinnie9872 thank you so much
Hi Bob what the measurements of the plastic box ,and measurements of the openering of the shaker box ,is better to bee smaller than 405 mm by505 mm so bees fall better into the brood boxes thank you Bob ,great videos, watch you heaps of times,
I don't have a plastic box nearby to measure as I comment back but I know it is narrower than 405mm. It is slightly less than the inside dimension of a bee box.
Hello Bob! Thanks for all your great videos.
Would you be so kind and share your recipe that you use as an alternate to honey B healthy? You said it was lemon grass oil and spearmint oil. How is this used? Thanks
It's nothing fancy. We add 400 ml lemongrass oil and 200 ml spearmint oil to 250 gallons of syrup.
Very very good information. Only difference i see is your double screen board. Here is my question. I totally get your point and makes the most sense. Ok yours has 2 screened holes, why do others i see have the whole board double screened? From what i understand the 2 small screened holes stops them from fighting, but the ones that are all open screened wouldn't that huge screen area make them fight?? Thanks so much !
The ones that are completely screened except for the rim should also be double screen with a space between the two screens. This space is what keeps them from touching each other. Ours with the two 3" holes is just our way of making a more substantial piece of equipment that will not be damaged easily with a lot of handling but still allows plenty of warmth to rise through from the bottom.
@@bobbinnie9872 thank you for the quick reply. Ok i miss understood. I thought you were saying it was 2 3" holez instead of a big open area kept down the fighting. I watch Mr Ed use double screen boards. With huge success also. Again thanks for sharing your information.
Great info! So thankful! I'm not wanting to make a nuc but I do want to split my colony. I'm copying my post from social media hoping you can offer guidance to this 2nd year beekeeper: Sooo. I just did my 2nd hive inspection of the spring and was prepared to do a split. I have one double deep 10 frame hive. Bees on every frame, capped brood, larve, drones and drone brood, the beginning of two queen cups and ample food stores to support the split. I searched 20 frames and only spotted 1 with fresh eggs. I didn't spot the queen. I'm operating on 3 hours of sleep so it could be exhaustion that has me confused. Maybe there was another frame or two? Went back to my top deep to find the frames with eggs and couldn't. But I didn't want to redo all the work I already did. One thing I learned was to find a way to mark frames when I'm looking for something specific. Soooo my question is, what do I do now moving forward? I really think this hive is the perfect candidate for a split but I closed everything up and called it a day. What would you do? ... the funnel seems like a good option 🤔
Hi Colette. I carry a queen marking pen in my pocket and put a small dot on a frame I need to keep track of. Any marker would do. I would probably split that colony but keep in mind I split every colony that I can. The queen cell cups don't mean anything until there is something in them. If you choose to shake bees off of frames as suggested here you can also use an empty bee box as a funnel. If you don't have a queen to start your split off with they can raise their own as long as they have eggs to do it with. Good luck.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thank you! I was a loss of what to do until I saw your video. I think I will try to shake bees off frames and funnel them into the bottom box. Queen excluder for a day and then split the hive of course giving the queen less split a frame of eggs. I'm so glad and thankful for your help!
Bob, one thing I’ve been thinking about. You mentioned that 4 frames of bees will peak in 7-8 weeks. Can you please tell me what you mean by peak? Is that a particular size? Is that dependent on the type of equipment you use?
Hi. I mean it peaks in population. It's kind of a general statement. It assumes conditions are good with plenty of stores or a flow and the queen has plenty of room to lay. We use a double deep brood nest, ten frame equipment. If the queen was restricted to a smaller space the colony would experience peak population sooner.
Thank you for this video, on the top box once you introduce a new queen can you then move the box in the same yard? The queen would mostly have nurse bees so they would stay with her?
Yes, but we like to wait until it's well established. Perhaps three weeks or more.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thank you
I’m thinking about putting a partition in a full deep to make two splits (above the divider board) would there be enough nurse bees to take care of 3 frames of brood on both sides.
My main reason for this is to ultimately reduce hives to medium honey supers.
Also how many holes are in the jar lids for feed, when I tip buckets at times syrup will flow out the bottom board, thanks for all your information, great videos! Todd
Hi Todd. Yes, two nucs in a deep over a divider board could have three frames of brood with nurse bees. With small nucs we will usually put one to three holes in a jar lid with a two penny nail.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thank you, you are a great resource to the honeybee family!
Hi Bob,
Thanks again for coming to the SCBA meeting in Florence last weekend.
Toward the end of this video, you mention not using queen cells from colonies that swarm very early relative to the rest of the colonies in a given yard. So, what is the best course of action for the early swarming colony to avoid propagating it's genetics?
I recently had a colony swarm on Feb 22nd that I had split on 16th! The colony was congested and already building swarm cell on the 16th so I felt like I needed to go ahead and split them even though it was so very early. The colony was configured as a deep plus medium brood chamber. The deep half of the split swarmed. One could maybe argue that they "had an excuse" to swarm due to the congestion. I was able to catch the swarm so I now have three colonies (the swarm plus the two halves of the split). What to do with these bees?
Thanks!
If they were much stronger than the rest of your colonies then perhaps they did have an excuse to swarm. That would be something to consider in more ways than one. Do you want colonies that are super strong early? If not you may consider requeening later. If it works in your location maybe they're perfect. If your other colony was just as strong but made no attempt to swarm early that would be better genetics.
Is there a preferred direction to point the entrance to the screen board? Rear of the hive or the front of the hive? Maybe when you pull the screen there is less confusion if it is pointed to the front? Less chance of a cross wind making a draft if they are on the same side also…
With a single lower brood chamber we do our best to have the double screen board entrance pointing towards the rear for the reason you mentioned. With a double lower brood chamber we are not as concerned but will still have the upper entrance towards the rear if convenient.
Thanks Bob, I real enjoy your vids. Can you build a double screen divider board that will support two nucs next to each other and create two 5 frame nuc splits?
Absolutely. Some like doing four frame nucs.
Mann Lake sells a double screened nuc bottom board for making splits.
Easy to build them. Scrap lumber works just fine. Bob uses really quality materials making his.
Great video! Only one question and maybe I missed it. How long do you leave the nuc on the top before taking it off to make it a hive by itself?
Ideally it's best to wait until they have plenty of their own hatching brood if your keeping them in the same yard. If your moving them to a separate yard, simply waiting until the queen is laying well is OK.
Great video Bob. If I use this method to create a new colony (top box). After 3 weeks I check for eggs or queen. Then can I move the top colony anywhere? Or does it have to be moved far away for 2 months?
Once the queen is established we feel comfortable moving it but if we're leaving it in the same yard we like to wait until she has an ample amount of hatching brood and new young bees.
Are there potential problems with using a double screen board that is all screen rather than just the holes you have in yours? The pre-made ones that are available in my area are made with a wood frame and screen covering the whole middle.
Hi Bob I am very thankful for your sharing. I am an hobbist from Italy and I am slowly growing my hives. Now it’s third year and finally arrived to 15 colonies and even if they may seem like a a small number I am very enjoying them and slowly learning things like queen rearing etc. Here I use mainly one brood chamber hives and i was wondering if the principle you explain in this video is still valid. In particular I would follow the same steps you show but using only another deep box on top with the double screen board in between the two boxes (for a total of two boxes instead of three). I Hope you can answer me. Best regards, Michele
Hi Michele. Yes, it will work fine as long as you understand the principle. Good luck.
I must ask, can't help but to wonder watching some of your videos. I see a lot of your tops w/the hole for a top feeder w/just the lid when you don't have the jar feeding the bees. Do you leave your tops like this all the time? Are the lids punched w/holes to screw a jar onto, or are they solid to pull out, then insert a feeder jar w/it's lid punched? Love your videos and have watched over, and over, and over,
All of our hive lids have a 71mm hole which fits a standard 70g quart jar lid. We leave a one piece metal lid with no holes in when not feeding and take it out when using jars or buckets.
@@bobbinnie9872 THANKS! Lids are a real commodity around here lately, sounds great! Thanks, again!
Hey Bob! First off I wanted to thank you for all of these great videos you put out for us to learn from. I think I've dang near watched them all 2 or 3 times!! I'm up in southeast South Dakota and I just started keeping bees last year. And with some luck and a ton of hours on youtube trying to learn, my bees over wintered and look to be very strong. I believe I'm going to need to split my colony and I'd really like to try this method. My question is...Does the split need to be moved in to a nuc box or could in stay in the 10 frame deep with the frames set up the way you show in this video? Thanks again and I hope all is well!!
When we make these nucs for our own use we just leave them in the 10 frame box and move it after it's well established which is after the queen has her own brood hatching.
I have been watching all of your videos the last few days. THANK YOU so much for all of the time and effort you put in to filming, editing, producing and posting your videos and for sharing your four decades of experience. After watching this video (twice) 😊, this makes perfect and wonderful sense and I am going to do this. I created an account on your website, but it appears you do not ship double screen boards. If not, the ones sold by Mann Lake have much larger openings covered by wire - are the larger openings OK? And the second question is - I have telescoping covers. Once the Nuc is set up and the new queen (or cell) is introduced, is it fine to use an internal feeder with the Nuc? Thank you again so much!
Hi Bee Guy. If you call our store at 706 782 6722 they can take an order for double screen boards. Th Mann Lake boards work well also. We only use division board feeders if the nuc or colony is at least four frames of bees. Too many drowning bees with small colonies.
@@bobbinnie9872 I just called and just placed an order for three. Thank you for your response and thank you again so much for all of your wonderful videos! - Guy
Bob been watching your videos for along time and several over and over question for this video when you introduce a queen into the nuc on top can you release a virgin queen or should she be in a cage. Thanks for all the videos great information Carl from Michigan
Hi Carl. You could introduce a virgin directly but I would do it when the nuc has been queen-less between 8 and 24 hours and the virgin is fresh.
@@bobbinnie9872 thanks Bob but you can introduce a cell right away thanks Carl
Raising queen cells….. I would only be raising 5 or 6 cells. Would I put that frame of cells into a queen-less nuc? And I’m pretty sure I witnessed 1 of my queens from a split using your boards… there was a decent cloud of bees above the hives and not orientation flights! Was awesome to witness then bee traffic in & out tripled from the 2 splits!
A queenless nuc should raise 5 or 6 cells well as long as there is proper nutrition and plenty of young nurse bees. We feel that feeding thin sucrose syrup will help anything rearing cells.
@@bobbinnie9872 ok great, it would be fun to try but more importantly I’d rather support my local apiary…. How do you find a great queen breeder? What are the proper questions to ask? Thanks once again Bob!
@@bobbinnie9872 I got 7 colonies, being new, I left all honey supers on the 7 colonies that were 50% capped or less on the hive for a food source til this years honey flow (mostly 50% capped or less) each colony consists of 1 deep and a medium, some have 2 deeps and a honey super. Just pulled apivar strips out for the first honey flow. My buddy’s suggests that I pull ALL supers off to get ready for this first flow. My concern is there’s no telling when Mother Nature decides to turn on the flo…..he wants me to take them all off but
during a “light” pollen flow……I’m pulling all apivar off tomm morning. I’m in SWFL I’m the firefighter… Supposed to drop to a low of 43 by Saturday.
Thank you once again!
@@Xray.71 Hi Jason. The combination of equipment used is a personal choice usually based on experience. That having been said I would be hesitant to pull all supers off at this point unless the colony population is small. I think you'll have less swarming if they are left with some extra space leading up to the flow.
@@bobbinnie9872 Ok understood! I wouldn’t remove the medium without replacing with new and heavy coated waxed frames.
Hi Bob, I have noticed in your videos that you seem to have selected two colors for your boxes; white and a lite cream yellow. I was wondering how/if you use those two colors in your beekeeping practice. When I assemble deeps that I get from Mann Lake, some of the boards are much more dense than others and I have wondered if being more intentional about pairing the heavier pieces to make boxes that are more dense would be of benefit; using the more weighty boxes as brood chamber boxes and the lighter weight boxes as top boxes. That got me to wondering about your paint scheme and if there was bee keeping intentionality to the two colors more that just a good deal on bulk paint or color preference. Thanks
Hi Dan. I used to use any mislabeled or "mistake" cheap paint I could find which meant lots of colors. I have come to the conclusion that I get the best service out of acrylic latex enamel on top of oil base primer and that type of paint is rarely sold that way. So if I'm buying new paint I choose the colors I want and I mix boxes with the two colors you mentioned because they give the bees a little better orientation (not as good as many colors) and I like how pleasant those two colors look. The light cream is actually a light yellow which I painted my house with.
I have been using the double screen board method for my fall splits 3rd year of using them. I use window screen on two sides of 3/4" board. Funny using window screen as wax moth hatch out in between the screens and can't get out. I rotate upper box 180 degrees with entrance opposite of bottom box. I move existing queen up and place newly mated queen below in the candy plug release cage. This new queen is marked, the existing queen is not. I returned several weeks later and to my surprise the marked queen is in the upper box. There is no queen cage there so I didn't mess up and put the new marked queen into the top box. I slide that box off and inspect the bottom box and the old queen is in the bottom box and so is the queen cage that the marked queen was released from.. They switched boxes on me, There is no path inside of the box and they surely can't squeeze through the window screen. Have you ever seen this?
I have not seen this but we are talking about bees here. Almost anything is possible.
I am about to get into bee keeping for the first time. I have been devouring your videos. Do you have a written "schedule" for when to do what? Thanks!
Hi Michael. Sorry, I don't have a written schedule.
Bob I also have frame feeders in all my dbl deeps. How often are you cleaning out the dead bees in the ladders and does it cause any issues if you don’t clean them out? Thanks Ray
Hi Ray. If the ladders have more than a few dead bees in them we do clean them out. It seems like excessive dead bees in the tubes causes issues with the syrup itself and the colonies won't take it as readily. Strong colonies have very little trouble but it can be a problem with smaller colonies. This is on of the reasons why I prefer to feed small colonies from above with jars or buckets.
@@bobbinnie9872 I’m already set for switching it next year.I completely agree
UK Beekeeper.
Bob, I look forward in 2021 in implementing the double screen board idea , which is a little more straight forward in it's application than the snelgrove board as presently used in the UK. Can you confirm as to the placement of the supers while conducting this split. Would you put them below the the bottom brood box while completing this exercise and then replacing them above when completed.
I would leave the supers as part of the lower colony, above the brood nest.
Thank you! I just tried this method yesterday and am excited to see how well it works. I have seen some similar questions already but am hoping you can put my mind at ease. When I rotate the boxes and put the double screened board in place this evening, I would really like the small opening to be on the front and oriented the same way the current entrance is. If I put it on the back and leave it that way, then I won’t be able to see it once I pull the NUC and separate it into its own hive as it will be facing the back fence. These are in my backyard and we enjoy watching them from our patio. Will I mess this up if I place the opening on the front? Also, once I pull the NUC, how far should I place it from the current one that is in place? Any help or suggestions are much appreciated. Thank you for your videos and time!
The front entrance will work. Assuming you'll wait until the nuc has it's own hatching brood and new bees you can move it about anywhere because during the summer there aren't any cold nights and the brood shouldn't chill with the temporary loss of the field force bees.
Thank you! I am in North Texas and it is pouring all day today. Can the boxes sit for an extra day before removing the queen excluder and switching them around?
Thank you! I am in North Texas and it is pouring all day today. Can the boxes sit for an extra day before removing the queen excluder and switching them around?
@@michael7887 Yes, that's part of the beauty of this technique.
Bob Binnie at Blue Ridge Honey Company I tried this method and it worked beautifully!!
is there an advantage to using the jar to feed the split/nuc versus a cap and ladder frame style feeder? great video thanks
Yes. The cap and ladder can be a problem for small colonies with a bit of drowning. Larger colonies have less of a problem with this.
Great instructional video! If a nuc should fail to make a queen I think you said just remove the double screen board. No need to use newspaper or worry about fighting then?
Generally, we smoke both halves well and no fighting will occur. If you want to be doubly sure a mist of very light sugar syrup or even water will further insure no fighting. I don't care for newspaper because of the mess left to clean up.
Hi Jeff
For some reason I can't reply to your latest question from yesterday and can't read it all so I'm using this comment to reply. Small glitch I guess. If you're asking if you can use an existing swarm cell with a double screen board the answer is yes and it would be helpful to let the new start realize it's queenless first by waiting a couple of hours if you have the time. Good luck.
Bobbie. I need your help. Can you put a package of bees in a hive when it’s still freezing at night! Or would you hold onto them and feed them for a few days until it much warmer? Thank you.
It depends on how you introduce them. Shaking them in can be a bit hard on them in freezing weather but if the day temperature warms up early in the day they can get organized before having to cluster at night. Definitely make sure they're in contact with the feed when clustered.
Hello, Bob. I talked about this moment 12:29.
Yes, in this demonstration the nuc is temporarily in the second box which will become the third or top box when finished.