On Wed, 29 May 1996, Franklin D. Humphrey Sr. wrote:
 
Franklin D. Humphrey Sr. wrote:
 
FDH> I know of a hobbyist who winters 10 colonies and only 10
FDH> colonies each year.  He winters in double brood chambers and
FDH> splits each spring using queen cells or commercial queens as
FDH> conditions require.  He then recombines  in the fall keeping
FDH> the younger queen.  ...
 
Gordon Scott wtote:
GS> In the south east of the UK, you'd say goodbye to at least half
GS> your crop, as these days, much comes from oilseed rape which
GS> flowers very early.
 
Franklin D. Humphrey Sr. wrote:
 
FDH> This is done about the 1st of April  about 4 weeks before the
FDH> main honey flow.  When the honey flow starts, the colony is at
FDH> full strength but not so crowed as to cause swarming.
 
In my area, the oilseed rape (our cash crop) is up and running
within about a week of our first full inspection in, say, early
April and is over by mid to late May. So, often, is the swarming.
Our next crop is usually much later.
 
> So for us here, in the southern US, this method works very well
> either for swarm control, or for making increase.
 
Sorry, I didn't mean my post as a critisism of the method,
just as a local observation.
 
Regards, Gordon.
--
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