The re-queening and varroa treatment in the Fall system sounded like the
best plan, so this is what I did, and I'd like to share an observation for
those who have a honey source in Jan-Feb. Make sure you don't do ANYTHING
to weaken the hive at that time, even if you have to re-check to make sure
the new queen is laying. Also, consider combining weak hives. Of my hives
that were weak during Sept-Oct, they are now building up nicely, but aren't
putting much honey up. Of the stronger hives, they are filling supers up at
a fast rate.

As it's very cold at night, I think the big difference is that the populous
hives are warm enough that the queen can immediately start laying lots of
eggs.

The difference in production in my eucalyptus/wildflower/avocado area is,
as of yesterday, nothing to harvest in the weak hives, and already honey-
bound supers in the strong hives. I even harvested some very strong hives a
few weeks ago.

Best regards, and thanks for the ideas
Tim Vaughan