With regard to swarm control, Kent reports "put on a super(
around the last week of April). This worked well as this hive didn't
swarm and gave me a great amount of honey."
 
I live near Albany, NY and probably have weather conditions much like Kent
experiences in Southern Ontario.  Around here the successful commercial
beekeepers put on three 6 5/8" supers or two deeps (as supers) before the
dandelion flow, as swarm control and to maximize the amount of honey
collected.  This is similar to what Kent reports, except there is more
leeway (dandelions bloom here around May 15) and by tying the supering to a
bloom the information might be helpful to those in a different climate.
 
In a normal year, in this part of the country, that much supering might be
sufficient for the season.  However, for the past few years some beekeepers
have had to double the number of supers before seasons end, and many
beekeepers have had to increase the number of supers by 50%.
 
Of course, this method of swarm control is only useful to those producing
honey for extracting.  Swarm control for the production of comb honey is
another entirely different story.
 
Lloyd
Email [log in to unmask]
Owner, Ross Rounds(tm), the finest in comb honey production.
http://www.rossrounds.com