Jo, like you, I too let nature take care of the culling business. For example, despite the record-breaking wetness this year, we had a severe drought only last year; from April till November, we did not receive much rain, from one extreme to another. In fact, last year, even the common sumacs did not care to bloom, being ticked off. Worse, this past April brought on down the late artic blast (you all recall?) that zapped and fried all the early blooms in Oklahoma: no peaches, no cherries, and no apples this year. Worse, the recent wetness drowned most of blackberries; they just melted away. Granted that we often get that kind of last freeze in Oklahoma, this one was different in that the freeze stayed with us for a month, which, in turn, delayed, if not “retarded,” swarming season this year. I still find primary swarms this late in July (no, they are worth more than a fly in my book). This prolonged chill, combined with last year’s severe drought, threw a one-two punch on my bees, knocking them senseless, taking a large toll on their number, a process that effectively culled the dinks so much so that I am debating if I should increase their number by buying queens from outside, something I have not done for years now. Most of my swarms and take-downs come from man-made structures and trees surrounding them; the largest one I caught this year, for instance, was from none other than Will Rogers World Airport in OKC; I caught a seven- framer (packing both sides solid) from one of the loading docks there, and when I explained that there was a colony within one hundred yards of the location of the swarm, the airport manager told me that the new airport building contained many such potential voids, walls that are not fully insulated but left unpacked, thus creating a potential FOD (Foreign Object Damage). I did volunteer to search for the nest, but he has not yet called for my service. Unless for improving the so-called “intra-colonial genetic diversity” (I love this mouthful jargon), I do not buy queens from outside, and when I do, I want Carniolans. Invariably, to increase the number and thwart swarming, I do walk-away splits as early in the spring as possible, thinking this way I can maintain the local gene pool, adapted to the local specifics, of my area—having already cut my losses in the fall. As many of you have already noted, by the time the nectar flow starts, the splits send out more sorties than do the parent colonies although one must be mindful and ever-watchful about the ubiquitous nemesis in beekeeping— queenlessness. Yoon YSK HONEY FARM Shawnee, OK ****************************************************** * Full guidelines for BEE-L posting are at: * * http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm * ******************************************************