>Instead of making splits, use the Snelgrove board to establish your 'split' above the parent colony and then use the eight entrances available (four above and four below the double screen) to divert the foragers from the upper colony to the lower colony to enhance your hive's honey collecting capabilities.

I was taught that every beginner should 'do a Snelgrove' - once - as it teaches about bee behaviour.

It is, of course, very labour intensive and while it might be fine for someone with just a couple of hives in a home apiary, it is completely impractical for anyone running a number of out-apiaries.  It also makes inspecting the hive difficult as there will be large numbers of bees looking for their upper entrance when you are trying to inspect the lower brood box.

Much the same effect can be achieved by splitting in the normal way, putting the colonies fairly close together, and then moving the split to the other side of the parent colony from time to time (after the queen has mated of course!).

Best wishes

Peter

             ***********************************************
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