I have four hives. I checked them this weekend and found the following: * One hive was strong and doing very well. Lots of brood and bees bring in pollen. * One hive was weaker and not as strong. Some brood and some pollen coming in. * One hive very week with only about five hundred bees but I did find the queen and she is alive * One hive dead. As this is my second year, I am learning and learning. I made some mistakes and am paying the price now. I am wondering if I can take the queen from the very week hive and use her for a split with the very strong hive. Both hives were very productive last year so I feel confident in the genetic properties of the queens. It was my fault that they are having problems. If I do make the split what would be the best method to do it. It is supposed to be around 65 on Sunday so I hope to do it then. Thanks for the help. Rob Calkins