At 08:55  6/17/96 EST, you wrote:
>---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>Sender:       Discussion of Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
>Poster:       "Mark D. Egloff" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject:      Too many bees???
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>     Well, this will seem to be a strange request, given the current
>     depleted status of the honeybee population in the US, BUT, I
>     set up a two queen hive for the first time this spring and I
>     now have more bees in that one hive than I know what to do
>     with.  I will be pulling honey supers off of the hive in about
>     another two weeks, but then I have a problem --
>
>     How do I get rid of the extra and then unneeded bees?  These
>     bees will be the older foragers, possibly (although not tested)
>     with the larger risk of mite infection, etc.
>
>     The colony is super vigorous. (BTW, it is great to see one this
>     strong.  I didn't know what a REAL hive of bees was until this
>     one.)  I don't want to damage it or hurt it in any way, but I
>     would like to filter out the excess foragers and quietly get
>     rid of thiem or find some other use for them.  Any ideas on how
>     to proceed??
>
>     Mark Egloff
>     Dayton, Ohio, USA
>
 
A couple suggestions:  Find another, maybe larger, beekeeper who might set
up a trade system with you.  You trade him, 1 for 1, a frame of bees for an
empty frame.  I,personally, know of a beekeeper, near me, who is willing to
do this.
 
The other suggestion is to make up a package or nuc of bees and offer them
for sell to someone wanting to start a new colony.  If you're going to do
this, however, you need to do it soon as we are getting late in the season
for someone to try to start a new colony.
 
 
Regards,
 
 
Mike Wallace
Sar Shalom Apiary
McKinney, Texas   USA
"Out of the heart, the mouth speaks."