When April arrives the hive contains six to seven frames of brood, many young bees and a strong working force of honey gatherers. At this time the eucalyptus honey is extracted, and the hive is moved back to the mountains just as the sages are coming into bloom. The colony is now in the best of condition to derive full benefit of the first nectar that the sages secrete. Such a colony has yet another point in its favor, as some beekeepers would have us understand. It has been severely shaken and stirred up, has been extracted, moved from one locality to another, breeding has been incited through moving, all of which have installed new energy into the bee. 

By comparing this hive with one that has remained in the mountains all winter, it is readily seen that in the stationary hive, as soon as the flow starts, the old bees that were reared last fall die off rapidly, and it is some time before young ones can replace them and the hive become a strong one. It is at just this time, and at a time when the sages are usually yielding their best that the moved hive has a full working force, and as a result is storing honey rapidly. The stationary hive must build up this working force, at the expense of a good honey flow, unless the beekeeper has practiced stimulative feeding for a number of weeks. Therefore, the migratory beekeeper of this kind does not only derive benefit by an additional source of honey, but also by the fact that he has his bees in excellent condition for next season’s crop.  

Beekeeping in California (1916)

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