William Lord wrote: >"...but we have an early
spring and the carniolians were honey bound and
slow to take off.  I know the Bulgarians go into
the hive in the spring and take a cappings
scratcher and scratch the capped honey adjacent to
the brood and get the colony to eat and expand,
but this is too labor intensive for me."

Fascinating.  Do Bulgarian beekeepers do this in
lieu of spring syrup feeding?  How early in their
spring do they try to stimulate feeding?

FWIW, U. Of Nebraska entomologist Dr. Marion
Ellis, who teaches intro beekeeping classes here
each spring, recommends Carniolans for our climate
for their wintering ability and gentleness.
--Rog Flanders, southeast Nebraska, USA