My question is, if I want to increase my hives from 2 to 4 by spitting
them can I do this in the fall

Cindy -

I like your enthusiasm.  Just a couple of months into bees and you want
to double your holdings!  But it is not wise to make splits now.  I live
in northern Illinois and we usually think we are pushing our luck if we
split them after the first of June.  I would expect this to be good
advise for your area.

The only time I would start a new colony now is if I pick up a swarm.
In that case there is no choice, and swarms are very aggressive hive
builders.  I guess mother nature gives them the idea they should work
extra hard.  I would think you should ask your local beekeepers when
they make their splits.  I would suspect it would be in middle or late
April.

The best thing you can do now is to manage your two well and have strong
colonies going into the winter.  If they look good in March, order a
couple of new queens for delivery when you want to make your splits.
You will have four going colonies for Y2K.  Don't be surpassed if you
get a variety of opinions on your question.  One of the few things
beekeepers agree on is that they disagree on most everything - still the
bees survive.

If you have not read it yet, I suggest the Joys of Beekeeping by a
fellow New Yorker, Richard Taylor.  It doesn't help much with the
science of beekeeping, but it does help to understand the aura of
beekeeping.

Welcome to the ranks.

Larry Krengel
Marengo, IL