"I'm not even sure if I know what the dark of the moon is, either. 
Has anyone tracked queen rearing/grafting times with the moon signs?  
  
 I've heard more swarms happen when the moon is "waxing,"

Anything to this?  
Jackson, MO " ReplyThe dark of the moon refers to the time during the waning moon, when the moon has set over the western horizon, leaving the sky bereft of any sun or moon light. Within the waxing and waning cycles of the moon, are astrological influences, and the 12 signs are ranked by fertility, and any amount of free moon planting guides on-line, will indicate, usually in a grid, a precis of the star and moon signs for gardening, and anything else related to fertility, or growth, or not. There are good and bad times to take note of.  I always have my hair cut on a waxing moon, on a positive star sign day, whilst DH has his cut on the waning moon to inhibit growth. I plant my garden by the moon; above-ground crops on the new, waxing  moon, and the root crops after the full moon, on the waning moon. I start new business on the new moon, and try to finalise stuff before the next new moon. Most gardening magazines, and many other life-style publications may publish such guides monthly or seasonally. Most diaries note the phases of the moon. We've not applied much science to our small apiary, but someone with the data processing skills might be able to retrospectively match the phases of the moon to their queen-rearing dairy  et voila: new science! Let's hope your question gets some replies to confirm or deny the folklore.  You've reminded me to write up my apiary observations against moon phases. 30 or more observations should contribute to a basic statistically relevant data set. The hope is that others of us will do something similar and contribute it here. Of the two, the waxing (growing moon) is more fertile than the waning (growing smaller) moon, so it seems very feasable that there are more swarms then. Thanks for raising the question. LIDABBC ApiaryKangaoo Island
   		 	   		  
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