Walk Away Split Calculator
Planning to make a walk away split? Input the date you plan to make the split, and then look below the calculated dates for detailed info on what each event means.
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Date virgin queen emerges - This date assumes that the bees will create a queen using a day old larvae.
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Orientation flights - Your virgin queen will take a series of orientation flights on these days.
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Queen mating flight window - Your virgin queen should go on her mating flight sometime within this 3 day window, weather permitting. Avoid moving the hive or changing anything about its appearance during this time.
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Start of OA 7 day treatment window - When making a walk away split, there will be a window of approximately 7 days when the hive has little to no capped brood. This is an ideal time to kill mites by treating your hive with oxalic acid. We recommend treating one time during this 7 day window.
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Check colony for presence of eggs - The queen may begin laying before this date, but we suggest waiting until this date to start looking for eggs.
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Combine with Queenright colony - If you still don't see eggs by this date, we would suggest combining your hive with another colony to avoid laying workers.