> So what I'm curious about is whether you ever tried both methods side by
> side in a yard to see whether there was a difference in colony buildup.
> Allen or anyone with actual experience?
Not that I have done a scientific experiment with equal colonies, etc,
etc., but I've done it both ways enough to know this:
If you have a strong single just about to double in population
overnight, (which means you have put off adding a second until June
around here and June means settled weather), then adding the box on top
is better and the bees and queen go right up. The build-up is marginally
faster.-- if all goes well.
However, swarming may result from waiting that long and you don't have
even a day or two to play with or the bees are in the trees. If it
rains and you can't get into the yard, or your best helper gets sick or
quits, then you are screwed. (That is the technical beekeeping term).
If you add the second on top, too early, before the single is full of
bees and brood in a climate like ours, the colonies just sit there and
don't expand until they recover from the shock. You may have chilled
brood. If you wait a day too late, and there is a huge brood hatch,
then your bees will swarm.
On the other hand, if you have several thousand hives to add seconds to
and only a few trucks and helpers, and you want to forestall swarming by
being early adding the boxes, and not a day or a week late late, then
putting the boxes on the bottom is just about as good and is very safe.
You can do it a week or two early to all colonies, weak and strong
alike, using even totally untrained helpers and the results will be
good.-- maybe not as good as a diligent and omnipresent expert beekeeper
might achieve, but very good and very consistent.
Consistent and safe is what a commercial beekeeper seeks if he/she wants
to remain a commercial beekeeper. What part of this is so hard to
understand? Commercial beekeeping is _not_ about doing everything
perfectly and right, or even at the ideal time, but about developing
management techniques that are idiot-proof, never cause disasters, and
give consistent good results over time and many colonies using labour
which may not have the skills to time the activity to the ideal moment
when the colony is about to explode.
Not ever having nosema problems might just be a coincidence, but I don't
think so.
At any rate, this advice works every time, does not require expertise,
and gives good results. Even a beginner can follow this advice and not
go wrong.
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