>> Is there a description of this method of hive increase?  I would be 
>> very interested in learning this technique. 
>... there are at least two ways to accomplish this. One is to take brood 
> and bees from your colonies over time... Another is called "nuking the 
> bees"... Lots in the archives about these manipulations

You might enjoy this site:
http://www.mdasplitter.com/

Regardless, the actual amount of increase that a beekeeper can  achieve  
annually over time depends very much on where you live and each individual 
season as well as how many queens you buy or raise, how much you feed, 
whether you want to make honey too, and what your winters are like.  If 
you split too much, you lose a lot of the resulting colonies the next winter 
unless you are lucky and well situated.

There are exceptional places and years when a multiple of ten is achievable, 
and many articles written, but the real-world average for most of us is much 
lower, with three being a common number, counting the surviving hives the 
next spring.

My goal  these past few years was to split colonies to the maxand not take 
honey.  I achieved only 2-1/2 this year and took no honey.  I was a way a lot 
and also had bad luck with queens.  For best results, intensive management is 
required and I was not willing to work the hives intensively.

I doubt that most northern beekeepers can achieve better than a five-fold 
increase, counted after winter losses, and most cannot even achieve that.
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