I have a superb colony on double brood. Productive and calm bees. I'd like to make the most of them and use the queen's genetics. I've tried a bit of grafting with no real success and may try a Nicot system this week.
However - I presume that given their size they will try to swarm before too long. I wondered if I should pre-emptively split the colony. I have, however, managed to get my head twisted with this!
Is it as simple as just picking one box at random and giving it a new floor, roof etc? Obviously there are bees and brood in both boxes. So the queen right box would just carry on while the queenless side would raise a new queen. I also have access to a Snelgrove board, but with the brood spread between both boxes I'm not sure how effective this would be at controlling the swarm instinct. I could also make up some queenless Nucs and let them create their own queens.
I suspect I am overthinking! Advice please!
However - I presume that given their size they will try to swarm before too long. I wondered if I should pre-emptively split the colony. I have, however, managed to get my head twisted with this!
Is it as simple as just picking one box at random and giving it a new floor, roof etc? Obviously there are bees and brood in both boxes. So the queen right box would just carry on while the queenless side would raise a new queen. I also have access to a Snelgrove board, but with the brood spread between both boxes I'm not sure how effective this would be at controlling the swarm instinct. I could also make up some queenless Nucs and let them create their own queens.
I suspect I am overthinking! Advice please!