Double-Screen Split

Double-Screen Split

The double-screen split can be used a little bit earlier in the spring, because the heat from the lower colony will rise up into the newly split colony in the same hive.

Here's how to make a double-screen split from a colony consisting of two brood chambers:

  1. Find the old queen and place her with about half the brood, preferably unsealed, in the bottom brood chamber.
  2. Place a second hive body with drawn combs or foundation above that-
  3. Place the double screen on top of that, with the entrance facing in the opposite direction from the lower hive.
  4. Now place the second brood chamber on top of the double screen with 5–6 frames of (mostly sealed) brood and two combs of pollen and honey on each side of the brood.
  5. Install a new queen or place some frames with queen cells into the top box.
  6. Try to get about two-thirds of the adult bees in the top box, since many field bees will return to the lower body after a flight
  7. A few weeks after the new queen starts laying eggs, you can move the upper colony away from the lower colony, set that brood chamber on its own bottom board, and provide a second brood box and supers as needed

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