I have a different outlook on swarming but I raise bees for my own plant
pollination  (fruit trees, flowers and veggies) and am a hobby beekeeper. I
do not do anything out of the ordinary to prevent swarming, but I do not do
anything to encourage it, as many around me do, which is feeding sugar
syrup and pollen subs for fast build up. What I have noticed is my bees,
treated this way, have no problem producing quantities of honey that exceed
most around me along with less problems. Also, I am a "darwin" beekeeper
and "select" for the traits I want, which is primarily winter survival.
This helps eliminate any of the hives that swarm late. Plus I never collect
swarms.
I look at swarming as a natural source of replacement queens to keep the
hive "young". I also think that early swarming created by the beekeeper can
lead to issues later. I see that with all the posts on our local newsgroup
about queen problems including queen loss.

Plus, it is a lot less work.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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