> Not really Fall splits Bob. I raise all the queens during June and July 
> when the flows are strong. Excellent time to raise good queens. This is 
> Vermont, though and not Missouri. You might be a month earlier than I, 
> May/June?
> Mike
 
Tres cool. I firmly believe that this is a practice worth becoming "trendy". We have experimented ourselves with overwintering nucs in southern and northern New Mexico-USA. We used to collapse all of our mating nucs into standard singles for overwintering. This works fine but is a lot of work; just to be re-established the following spring. Two years ago we decided to start overwintering nucs in nuc form to see how it would work out. We only did a test run with two dozen that first winter- worked good. Last year we did so with about 100 nucs, worked allright as well. This gave us overwintered and what I call "tested" queens to drop into blanks come spring. Plus!!!! This is the exciting part- they made a whole crop of mesquite honey by June and then another crop of summer sweet clover and alfalfa in the mountains. AND, made more queens, nucs and splits! Well worth the process!
 
This winter we are overwintering 450 nucs. Many we will keep to drop into dead-outs or open spaces on our pallets. My partner Mark wants to offer some for sale in the spring though I can't imagine parting with any of them- they are "tested" for overwintering which I consider very valuable. We have decided- of course we can't count our queens before they overwinter- to offer some of the queens for sale as "breeder compatibles". Since we focus on survivor breeding, these overwintered queens are going to be well worth their stamina. 
 
We were inspired to start doing this on a trial to larger scale by Kirk Webster- also of Vermont. He shared that before the shipping modernization of packages in the U.S. and in other parts of the world, colder climate beekeepers had to rely on their summer splits for replenishing next season's stock. This is not only a sustainable method but also reduces a lot of the negatives- like importation of pests/diseases. However, as all learned to moved from the farm and buy our food at the stores, so have beekeepers learned to buy from other regions with warmer and earlier springs. This makes sense to a certain degree though if we put it all in perspective, it is no wonder that our bees do not acclimate readily to new environments and landscapes. 
 
The reality is that folks want their bees and they want them now- not all are concerned with where they came from and how they were reared. I sincerely believe that the real failure of our current plight in American beekeeping is compromised rearing. I may very well be putting my head on a chopping block but from my experience- which is limited though growing (13 years as a professional full-time beekeeper- worked 8 years for others now co-own my own queen rearing op), production queens are being reared in compromised situations. 
 
You can have the best genetics in the world but they will be compromised if nutrition and other enviromental factors impede sufficient rearing, not to mention crew experience as well. I want to ask everyone- how old are your queens? Honestly....they can last- multiple blooms and seasons if they were reared well- and that means, not rushed, not fed junk AND selected for survivability- the overall umbrella trait. If your queens can not only last, but last well and with good health and production, then they are worthy of being propagated and shared. All of our breeders are at least two years old. And yes, we are a mobile/slightly migratory operation and they have to deal with us and our challenges. 
 
It can be hard to start to select breeders, but I believe what I can see. And if I have a hive that is reigned by an older "maid" and is pumping- that's the genetics I want and I want them in good shape- reared at their best, which is our summer flow in the southern Rockies. More power to you Michael and to others who are looking to create sustainable management with their bees. We can't keep buying from abroad and "consuming" and "disposing" of bees so haphazardly. We also can't wait for someone to "create the perfect bee". You want good bees- start making them! I encourage everyone to not only be thankful for our blessed winged angels of agriculture but to accept the challenge and look to promote, protect, preserve and produce good bees. 
 
Anyone else with quality survivor stock- I am interested!
 
Feliz Dia de Gracias- we are all immigrants (for the most part). 
Melanie Kirby

  		 	   		  
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