Earlier, Peter pointed out that largest colonies, although they do tend to
produce better crops than smaller ones, are not necessarily, pound for
pound, the best producers. This interesting observation leads me to
ponder then “What is the optimum number of frames one can give to a split
in spring?” Imagine one has unlimited number of frames to make splits
with; what will be the optimum number of frames? As I ponder this
question, I realize the various responses will depend on the time of
split, the strain, the level of feeding, the intensity of localized flow,
and the weather condition, among others.
For example, a three- or four-frame split, under heavy-feeding, with drawn
combs given, will make about a super of surplus ideally around here, give
or take, but that’s just too labor intensive for the relatively small
return. On the other hand, two splits made out of two deeps (10 frames
each) don’t always outperform say, seven to eight-frame splits. I have
not yet tried anything beyond ten-frame splits, however. What happens
when you make, say, fifteen-frame splits?
Typically I make splits for the following year, a delayed investment,
knowing that it takes about two years for the splits to produce surplus as
they must survive the first winter on their own since I do not feed the
larger splits—-anything beyond seven frames. Invariably, during the first
year of split, they store up enough to survive the winter, but not enough
for me to rob. (Given the sugar price, I do not want to feed them) Under
these conditions, thus, I must feed late swarm-captures in my area,
nevertheless.
Obviously, to maximize the flow, we need the maximum number of foragers
just before the flow although I would prefer my bees to peak during the
flow, not before. The “spring-thinned” parent colonies, with older queens
(a year or two) tend to swarm after the flow in my operation, typically
during the heat of late July, which I find interesting, because these
swarms must rely on goldenrod and aster, two very unreliable nectar
producers in my area, and in the south, goldenrod blooms are not as heavy
as in the north.
Yoon
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