Only perform a walk-away split if the parent colony is already strong and queen-right before split day: at least 8–10 frames of brood, a heavy nurse bee population, and visible eggs or larvae under 3 days old (so the queenless half can raise a queen). Drones must be actively flying in your area, and daytime highs should be consistently at or above 70°F (21°C) with no extended cold snaps forecast for the next 2–3 weeks to support queen rearing and mating flights. Each half must leave the split with a minimum of 2 full frames of honey and 1 frame of pollen, or you must be prepared to feed 1:1 syrup immediately and continuously until new nectar flow or sustained stores are established. Have the second hive fully assembled and ready in advance — this method has no purchased queen backup, so timing, brood age, colony strength, and stores determine success.