The beekeeping season is almost over here in Ontario and I am starting to
think about next year already, and in particular I have been thinking about
how I will make splits next spring in order to replace deadouts and maybe
increase a little.

This past year I made a split without introducing a new queen.  I did it
primarily because the parent colony has been a terrific producer, so I
wanted to  preserve the genetics.  Thinking about that split I recall that
every frame of brood that I gave it had at least one queen cell built on it
after the split was made.

So it occurs to me that if I were to take 5 frames of brood and some
honey/pollen frames and put them into a one chamber hive for 10 or 12 days I
would probably have a queen cell on each of those frames.  I could then make
a splits by combining one queen cell bearing frame from this first split
with fresh brood from strong colonies.

It seems to me that by doing this I would significantly reduce the egg
laying gap in the splits vs. what I did this past year - each split would
have a queen within a few days and if the weather is good she could be
laying in a week.

Is there anybody here who has done this and can share his or her experience?
do any of you more experienced beekeepers have any comments or suggestions?

Frank.
-----
The very act of seeking sets something in motion to meet us;
something in the universe, or in the unconscious responds as if
to an invitation.  - Jean Shinoda Bolen

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