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>
> My question is this. I plan to split both of my hives this year to head
> of swarming and to increase my number of hives from two to four. I know
> this is a VERY regional thing with times varying widely based on climate,
> but I would appreciate some tips from you on how to proceed, what to look
> for, and any horrifying/great success stories you may have. I plan to
> review "The_Hive_and_the_Honeybee" for more tip/procedures, and would
> also appreciate more reading suggestions.
>
> Thank you very much, for myself, and other beginners who will benefit
> from this thread.
>
> Steve Creasy-
> Maryville, Tennessee, USA
> Prov. 24:13, 25:16
Hi Steve
I'm only about 80 miles south of you, here in Chattanooga. When I make
increase, I plan for it in July the year before. I use single hive bodies
during production because we have a very short season and due to our mild
winters, one super will carry them through winter. If I plan to make
increase next year, I add a second hive body above a queen excluder, when
the dearth starts in mid to late July. I feed heavy syrup as much as they
will take. With the heavy syrup they tend to store it so they readily draw
out new foundation for storage space. In late fall, I remove the queen
excluder so the bees have access to the upper chamber. In spring the queen
will lay in both chambers. I simply run the queen down into the lower
chamber then remove the top one to make increase. Set it on a new stand
for a few hours, to allow any field bees to exit, then give them a new
queen. Since they already have stores and drawn comb, the new colony
becomes strong very quickly and I have sometimes gotten modest harvest the
first year.
If I don't have the above method setup, I will take as many as 3 frames of
sealed brood from an strong colony to start a new one. You probably won't
get a harvest the first year, from the new colony. You will however leave
the original colony strong enough to recover and produce a decent crop in a
good year
Frank Humphrey
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