Hi Randy
I cannot disagree with anything that you have written, but you have ignored
one factor - the genetic inclination to swarm rather than to supersede.
Here in the UK, many of us are trying to breed native bees (A.m.m.) which do
just that. This spring I was sad to see that my best breeder queen was no
longer with us after four years of producing excellent crops from a single
British National brood box with bees that could be handled easily without
smoke, even under adverse weather conditions. The colony had never tried to
swarm, but late last autumn - after my final inspection - they superseded
her and I found her daughter in charge this spring.
How I wish that all my colonies were like that one.
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