I thought I’d share the step‑by‑step method I used this spring on a FlowHive colony that came into the season very strong and started building swarm cells. Instead of letting them swarm or doing a standard artificial swarm, I used a vertical split to raise a new queen and keep honey production high.
It’s now been six weeks, the new queen is laying beautifully, and the colony is booming — so here’s the full breakdown for anyone interested.
1. Starting point: strong spring colony with swarm cells
The colony was packed with bees, nectar coming in, and several charged swarm cells. Rather than lose half the bees, I used the situation to my advantage.
2. Setting up the vertical split
I separated the colony into two brood boxes:
- Bottom box: Old queen, some brood, and stores.
- Top box: Brood with swarm cells/young larvae and plenty of nurse bees.
- Between them: A split board/double screen so they share warmth but operate as two colonies.
- Upper entrance: Added so the top box could function independently.
This keeps both halves strong while preventing an actual swarm.
3. Allowing the top box to raise a new queen
The top box was effectively queenless, so they continued developing the swarm cells.
I left them alone for mating and checked later for a good laying pattern. Once I saw solid brood, I knew she was established.
4. Both queens established
At this point:
- The old queen was still laying steadily below.
- The new queen above was laying well and building up her own population.
Two queenright units stacked vertically is a huge advantage for colony strength.
5. Moving the old queen away
Once the new queen was confirmed, I moved the box with the old queen to a new location in the apiary.
This prevents flying bees drifting back to her and lets that colony rebuild in peace.
6. Putting the new queen in the prime position
I placed the new queen’s brood box on the original stand — the location all the foragers are oriented to.
Then I turned the split board/entrances so all flying bees returned to the new queen’s hive below.
This instantly boosts her colony with a massive forager force.
7. Adding the Flow super for maximum honey
With a young, vigorous queen and all the flying bees now working for her colony, I added the Flow super.
The result:
- Strong brood nest
- Huge forager population
- Excellent nectar intake
- Fast filling Flow frames
This method has given me one of the strongest honey-producing setups I’ve had after a split.