I'm a new-bie to this beekeeping hobby, and have just recieved and set up
my first hive earlier this week.  And I have a couple of questions...
Since yall will probably ask about geography, I am located in the
SouthEastern US (SouthCarolina)  We have relativly mild winters, 10-15F is
about the lowest temperatures, but we do have a few days in the 60F range
in Dec, Jan, and Feb.
 
- I ordered my bee's as a 4 frame Nuc, and the comb on the frames that I
recieved is very very dark or "We'll Used"!  I have heard that older comb,
altho not necessarily bad, isnt all that good either.  Therefore I am
wishing to implement a plan that will allow me to remove these 4 frames
from the hive.  I am running 10 frames in the hive, so the four nuc frames
are in the center, with three new foundation frames on either side.  What I
have thought about doing, is as the neighboring frames with foundation get
completely/nearly drawn into comb (on both sides of the foundation)  I will
move those two frames into the center, and shift the old combs towards the
sides.  Repeating this until the old frames are the outermost frames.
 
O - Old Frame
N - New Frame
 
N N N O O O O N N N     - Current Setup
N N O O N N O O N N     - First 'Shift'
N O O N N N N O O N - Second 'Shift'
O O N N N N N N O O     - Third 'Shift'
 
Now to throw a wrinkle into the whole picture...  I am wanting to divide
the hive into two.  If I can maintain a healthy strong hive, would it be
possible to divide and requeen late this summer (say, August)  (I am not
too concerned about surplus honey this year).  I am willing to feed them
(Pollen/Sugar water) to promote vigorus population growth this summer, and
to sustain them over the winter.  Or should I wait until early next
spring??  What is concerning me, is that we had quite a few beekeepers
report swarms in early march this year, and I wouldnt want to 'lose' my
efforts to a swarm because I didnt divide this year, yet I dont want to
lose them all because I did divide this year.
 
Once I do the divide, (and given the anticipated layout of the frames with
Honey, Pollen, and Brood)  here is how the frames might be organized.
 
O1 - Old Frame (Hopefully Honey)
O2 - Old Frame (Hopefully Pollen/Honey)
N - New Drawn Frames (Hopefully Brood )
F - Frames with Foundation (added after the divide)
 
O1 O2 N N N N N N O2 O1    - Before Divide
 
F F O1 N N N O2  F F F   and  F F O1 N N N O2  F F F
 
I can then go through the 'shifting process' to eliminate the old comb by
the  end of next year.  While at the same time, Given good nectar flows, I
should be able to expect some surplus honey.
 
I would welcome and value feedback from anyone to help me understand if
this is an OK plan, or if I am possibly subjecting myself to a disaster.
 
Thanks
Rod Billett
Columbia, South Carolina, USA