I live in the East Bay area of No. CA and we typically have 2-3 partial (40%) frames of brood all winter. I have treated in late Dec early Jan with OA dribble for 4 years and have never seen any adverse effects. We have a good winter (Dec-Feb) nectar flow due to loquat and eucalyptus blooming. In fact I have two of four colonies that are storing some extra nectar in a third super. We have great early mid Feb build up due to wild mustard, hairy vetch and then almond blooms with early swarming starting in March. OA in Dec-Jan here is very effective in getting a colony off to a great start.
***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html