> The best queens and hives are the ones 30 days following
the winter solstice and 30 days proceeding the spring
solstice brooding with queen laying and good stores. And
between the two, the hives doing both are the better....and
normally always have been for given area.

Thanks for spelling that out more clearly, Dee.  I can't read your
shorthand but this is almost understandable.

Of course, all beekeeping is local, and for our "given area" we can
expect minus forty temperatures 30 days after the winter solstice
and poor mating weather for almost 4 months thereafter, so we'll
scratch that plan for now.

As for 30 days preceding the "spring solstice" (Do you mean spring
equinox?) the weather is more moderate, but still below freezing
much of the time.

If you meant _summer solstice_, we are in agreement, as this is an
ideal time for bee reproduction almost anywhere bees are to be
found as long as a dearth or rainy season does not accompany it.

For us, though, the actual sweet spot is often a week or two earlier.

Of course this has not mentioned the moon, and that was the question.

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm