Now that I think about it, I have been 'checkerboarding' for a long time.
Since I live in the U.S. South let's call it 'red neck checkerboarding', as
it is colloquial and not very intentional.  I explain bee hives to newbies
as a font of energy.  In the spring the bees are going to make more bees
and are either going to swarm (nature's choice) or make honey.  The
beekeeper's objective is t ochannel that energy, to make honey usually,
though we end up making bees too if we do things right by splitting out
nucs from strong hives.  When I pull a nuc from a strong hive I insert
empty drawn combs in a checkerboard pattern in the brood nest to absorb
some of the hive's energy.  In a pinch I will insert foundation, though
like Randy says, the bees don't see foundation as comb and can screw up
sheets of foundation in a brood nest unless a good honey flow is on.  Does
this make me a 'closet' checkerboarder?

Bill Lord
Loiuisburg, NC, USA

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