Spring Splits in the Apiary: Preventing Swarms and Growing Healthy Colonies

Spring is always a busy season here at Carinya Downs – not just in the gardens and orchards, but also in the apiary. As the days warm up and flowers begin to bloom, our bees kick into high gear, building up numbers and filling the hives with nectar and pollen.

While this is a wonderful sign of healthy colonies, it also brings a challenge: managing swarming. Swarming is the natural process where a colony becomes so crowded that the bees decide to divide themselves, with half the hive (and the queen) flying off to find a new home. While swarming is part of the bees’ life cycle, it can mean losing a large portion of the productive colony and disrupting future honey production.

That’s where spring splits come in.

Why Splitting Hives Matters?

By carefully splitting strong hives into smaller colonies, we’re able to:

• Prevent swarming by giving bees more space and reducing overcrowding.

• Encourage healthy growth by creating new hives from strong, productive colonies.

• Increase pollination across the farm as more hives mean more bees out working the flowers.

• Support sustainability by keeping our apiary thriving without relying on purchased colonies.

Splitting hives is like guiding the natural process of swarming, but in a way that keeps both the original colony and the new one strong and well managed.

A Season of Abundance

Spring splits not only help our bees but also ensure a steady supply of our award-winning honey, which is a favourite at the Slow Food, Earth Market in Maitland. Healthy hives mean happy bees, and happy bees mean an abundant, thriving farm.

So the next time you enjoy a spoonful of Carinya Downs honey, know that behind it are hardworking bees and careful spring splits that keep them buzzing all season long.