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

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