How to make a walk away split

Step by step on how to do a walk away split.

[@jeremymcatee6293]

That was what I would term a "Nurse bee split". As I learned it, a walk away split is taking a double deep and just moving one of the boxes to a new location after you ensure they at least have a frame of eggs to raise a new queen. It's great for quickly splitting a strong colony. Another thing to think about is how much larvae you give the smaller colony. If they have too much, they'll try their best to raise it all along with several queens. If you can find a frame that is mostly capped, but has just a few of the youngest larvae or eggs, they'll have an easier time raising that queen for you.

[@jamesblakesley3213]

my name is Al Blakesley and I've been doing Walk away splits about 15years now it darn sure works

[@66otnt]

Thanks! That was great Joe

[@Dstick1Spearfishing]

That is the moodiest I've seen your Bees Joe, LOL you do have real bees ;) Great Video

[@johnbrecheisen7557]

Good job there joe.

[@GornaPaseka]

very useful and interesting video. Thanks

[@dadu63]

do you close up hive for 3 days?

[@stacywaltman7898]

Is the oxalic acid wood bleach what you are using in your vaporizer

[@robertstwalley3662]

Good video, I am planning on doing some splits this spring, been building nuc boxes over the winter, and am trying to get educated on what exactly I am going to do. BUT, i do have a curiosity question for you at little off topic. What is on top of some of your telescoping covers dark metal looking thing with a hole in the middle of it?

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

black roofing felt that I on the boxes in winter.

[@357lockdown]

Hi Joe. I thought that Bee was going to take you down for a minute..lol.

[@lenoretalon9958]

❤️thank you

[@markreed6238]

What was in the body with the top on it? The one you removed and set on the ground.

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

That was a hive top feeder.

[@PaulHigginbothamSr]

I would worry about them not having enough to eat with just that small pollen patty. I think I would have put a jar of syrup on it to make sure everything was going good trapping them in like that. Yeah my bees start going off after the queen is gone a short time. I have been thinking of adding an electronic monitor on my hives so I can see right away if something happens to her but probably won't.

[@evankenison588]

Hey Joe, thank you for all your videos. I've watched a lot of them and am leaning a lot. I noticed you smoke the hive for the top. Do you ever smoke them from the door and let the smoke infiltrate through the hive so all the bees will be alerted and fill up in honey for you? Is it bad to do that, smoke them from the door while the hive is still closed? Thanks, Evan

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

I never smoke the entrance my bees are gentle I need very little smoke.

[@evankenison588]

Little Bits Honey Bees joe may Oh. Cool. I'd love to have you do a video on how to deal with bees when they are not being gentle. Some days my hive does great, and other days they are really Moody and excited to sing me. I still have to get in there, but don't always want to suit up and sweat it out because I'm so hot in my bee suit. How do you handle a hive on a day when they're really Moody?

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

When the bees are mean put a veal on and a jacket. Mine hardly every get that way so it would be hard to make a video.

[@jim2924]

Hi Joe, thanks for the video. Is this what Don does when he makes his splits? I can see you would not be risking many resources in trying to make a queen. Also do you put a feeder on them?

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

I always put a feeder on on any split.

[@seymourhotaling7152]

🙂

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

Hey Jim This is one way don dose it. It just depends what I have going and resources I have.

[@stanparker3528]

Little Bits Honey Bees joe may not

[@sandrocamargo698]

Hey Joe, nice video, but I notice that you paint inside of your hives, for how long you have been doing this, and if you can tell any difference, cause I was thinking about paint inside of my hives, but everybody say to not paint, what you say??? Thanks Joe!

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

I would not recommend painting the inside of the boxes. These are painted inside because it was free wood and it was primed on both sides.

[@CombsGregory]

Joe, what would happen if you didn't close up the hive for 3 days ? Would they go back to the original hive? My walk away splits very seldom work. I am thinking I need to start closing them up like you do . Thanks Greg

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

If you take the hive you are splitting set it on the ground about 10 feet away then find your queen in the original hive put the frame she is on in a closed box so she can't get out. Put a lid turned up side down in front of the split. Now go back to the original hive and get frames of bees and sake them in the lid do most of the frames in the original hive. Put queen back in the original box. wait till all the bees are gone out of the lid. now you can set the split any were you want the bees that's in that box will stay. They are all nurse bees they walk in the box. All the field bees flew back to the original hive.

[@julieenslow5915]

Joe, Does it cause a problem for the split if you do it this way so they have all nurse bees? They would have no foragers of any kind. I'm thinking about the pollen and nectar they need to feed the brood and make a queen. I'm sure you have handled that some way i did not see.

[@larrypeterson4945]

Joe, I have had these "walk away splits" produce several queen cells. I use at least 3 frames of bees. Do you see any problem cutting out the extra queen cells and using them for mini-nucs?

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

no they will work fine.

[@kennylecroy9706]

If i pull a frame out of a 5 frame nuc with the queen on it and put it in a 2 frame box,do i have to move the 2 frame out of the yard ?

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

You can if enough bee stay, I would shake another frame of bees off open brood.

[@HeftyHoosier]

how many hives do you have now joe? I got about 12 or 13. I got one I'm gonna make a few splits from tomorrow up toward your neck of the woods in Smithville.

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

right now i have 87

[@HeftyHoosier]

+Little Bits Honey Bees joe may I have 16 right now. do you have a son named Mike around 40 years old? if so I think we were friends in high school.

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

yes I do

[@robbiesines4864]

can a wet and cold spring stop bees from drawing out comb

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

it can slow it down but if bees are healthy and got plenty of food they should draw wax.

[@66otnt]

Do you always close the split for three days Joe, and then opening it again, after that?

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

If i leave the split in the same yard I close them up the day I make the split and the next day they open them up after dark.

[@66otnt]

@@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay Many thanks Joe.

[@jwchitwood]

I'd argue Joe is not doing a walk away split. People think of a walk away as a 50/50 frame split. Joe is selecting the right age eggs/1 day old larvae frame. And making up a free flying cell starter/finisher. I think there is a big difference between the two ideas. This is how people should approach entry level queen rearing.

[@charlesmcadams1491]

need help have bee's in a brick wall, put a trip out on the wall, the bee has now another way out they come into the box and out the front open, and go back into the box and back up into the wall again. can any one tell me how to get them to stay in my box have put smoke into the wall but the queen won't come out, can any one help, tell me how long it will take, tell me any thing that may help,

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

Look at my trap out video. you will have to make a funnel like I made to keep the bees from going back in the wall.

[@xshanghu]

A clear case of ten card monte.

[@krisrandol5545]

Joe can you take the queen out of the original hive and put it in your walk away? Let the old hive make a new queen.

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

you sure can when I make a split most of the time I move the queen.

[@mikedarkow7788]

are you going to make more videos

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

yes I have been in the hospital with a bad kidney stone tiring to get caught up.

[@mikedarkow7788]

@@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay cant wNT TO SEE YOU

[@chipfriday8166]

Why have you none of the forms of clover planted in your yard?

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

i have a lot of white dutch clover It was just not blooming in this video.

[@bordenpetrycia8100]

Stop the idiocy and use foundatjon in your frames. All that drone comb will give you plenty of varroa.

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

I will have you know all I use is 3/4 starter strips. Their are over 2500 drawn frames in my nuc yard. They draw perfect work comb may be 5% drone. You put 10 frames of full foundation and I will put 10 starter strips they will draw my 10 starter strips out way before they draw yours out. You think I am blowing smoke come and see for your self.

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

And by the way the amount of drone comb in a hive has nothing to do with the number of mites in a hive. Lets say you have 10 mites in a hive they will lay in 10 cells I will agree they will lay in the drone cells first but if there are no drone cells they will lay in 10 worker cells. They like the drone cells because they are bigger and a drone takes 28 days to hatch. A lot of people put a full frame of drone comb in a hive for mite control let them lay it up and cap them then take them out and melt them down.

[@gardennurse1588]

"Idiocy". Really? Is that the best you can behave when participating in a public forum for the exchange of ideas and information? Please don't ruin it for the rest of us who enjoy this channel. Being nasty to someone who is volunteering his experiences is not called for. You don't have to agree with him, and you may have entirely different experiences, but if you are so upset by his personal choice on how to run his hives then please just quietly go about your way. The rest of us are very grateful for every person who is willing to teach us what they have learned. I love hearing the various ways people have found to achieve their outcomes. If people are to expect to be crucified and humiliated for what they share, many may decide it is not worth the trouble, and those of us enjoying this don't want that. Is there no more respectful way you could have shared your point of view?

[@markspc1]

Shit helmet camera sucks ! I am out of here !!!

[@LittleBitsHoneyBeesjoemay]

bye