> If you know approx. when a honey flow is to take place you need  to plan on
> having your hives at maximum strength at the start of the honey flow.

You can know exactly.  This way, you can avoid "drastic hive manipulations".
and avoid the associated labor.  I've been advocating tracking growing
degree-days as a way to nail down blooms to within a few days for years now,
and I've yet to find any other beekeeper even trying it.  Discouraging.

> We do drastic hive manipulations which cause queens to increase laying

I'd love to hear what tricks you use, but my "secret" is that I admit
that feeders and pollen patties must go on when snow is on the ground
if one wants a maple crop, let alone a colony worthy of a pollination fee.
I've yet to be able to convince the bees to mature from eggs to foragers
any faster, so my equation is "feed goes in, bees come out".

> and to keep all hives in a yard as close in population to one another as
> possible

Yeah, right.  And every year, one can plan next years mistakes in
reaction to this year's weather and errors.  :)

Me, I'm introspective about retrospection.


          jim (The bee is such a busy soul,
               She has no time for birth control.
               And that is why, in times like these,
               There are so many sons of bees!)

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