> Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the queen is most certainly not the
> limiting factor.  It's the size of the cluster of bees in spring.

Cluster size differs between breeds, and can be very misleading.  If you
ever have the pleasure of getting some of Sue Cobey's NWC queens from an
NWC producer, you will find these REALLY SCARY small clusters in fall.
So small that you will be certain that you are about to lose every single
hive simply due to a lack of "critical mass" to keep itself warm.

If you can resist the impulse to combine these "weak" colonies, you will
find that they survive the winter with aplomb, and consume far less winter
stores than you thought they would need.

If you toss a pollen patty and a little feed on these clusters well before
last frost, you will then witness the main attribute of NWCs - they are highly
nimble and efficient exploiters of even limited resources.  The colony expands
so early and so rapidly that the only word one can use is "explosion".


Also, Aaron said:

> First off, it's small hive beetle.  This Saturday is the 35th anniversary of
> the release of Abbey Road, arguably the best album ever released by any
> group, not just the Beatles.

Its strange, I pulled out my "Abbey Road" album, and found what may be
evidence that SHB has been a problem in the UK longer than we had thought:

http://www.bee-quick.com/bee-quick/the_beatles.jpg


           jim  ("I'd stop at nothing to help you."
                       "But you've done nothing..."
                 "Yes, exactly - that's why I stopped!)

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