Bob, I agree with your bee husbandry after July 15, the last week when our 
Sumac blooms fizzle away although my Vitex blooms still hold their ground 
for a little longer in the summer heat.  Typically, I would open-feed late 
in October through the first frost, which occurs around November, but I am 
discovering that I should have started much sooner, perhaps in August, if 
not sometimes in July; in fact, the sooner, the better.  There are just 
too many variables between the said period: weather, fall bloom, and queen 
failure, among others.  Typically, I have been successful to split by 
August 15 with heavy individual feeding (a labor-intensive, time-consuming 
care), but the brooding cycle, even under the ideal condition, is rather 
unpredictable, particularly when the weather pattern yoyo’s as it has been 
in the recent past.  Invariably early swarm-captures in late March through 
April around here would fend for themselves, left alone, for the first 
winter onslaught, making honey at least the next year; however, even those 
will winter better when assisted with supplemental feed because, for 
instance, we had a record drought two years ago and then a record-flood 
last year, back to back, making this agricultural endeavor a guess work.
Wanting to increase numbers, without buying either a package or a queen, 
so that I can maintain the integrity of my feral-only stocks, has been a 
challenge recently largely because of unfavorable weather although I have 
been planting Vitex every year to fight the dearth between sumac and 
goldenrod blooms.  When we had the record-flood, I hoped to get some “fall 
honey” but no such luck in the south.  Although the abundance of water 
helped bloom many flowers I have not seen bloom before, it did not do a 
diddly squat on goldenrods, another reason to prepare for wintering 
starting as early as July.

Yoon

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