Gene: If however I see a well formed and functional queen and a small population that looks like it could make a short and mild Texas winter (but is lacking in population) I will stack the week colony above a strong colony with a double screen ...


Pete: I had one exactly like you described, kept them over another colony over a screen for a month. But this week I pulled the screen and combined them with paper. I wouldn't bet on them, though. It generally takes a big colony to make it here

By the way, I have given this process *a lot* of thought and it is mainly based on the beekeeping from the 20th century. In the 21st, people seem very keen on keeping every colony alive, despite the fact that it goes against nature and smart beekeeping.  

Smart bkog is to increase the numbers when the time is right (May, here) and let the duds fail as they will. There's a saying that beekeepers spend 90% of their time on 10% of the hives. So, instead of being Mr. Fixit -- I prefer to spend the time on queen rearing and splits to cover the inevitable losses

Ithaca, NY. USA

PLB

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