>
>The primary goal of checkerboarding is to increase the brood area
>[and consequently the number of foragers].  Inserting empty comb in
>between frames of brood during the spring expansion phase, will make
>the colony develop at a much faster rate.


I have a hard time with "Checkerboarding." I, for one, would never 
split up my brood nests in such manner. I can't really see how this 
supposed increasing of the brood area will make a colony develop at a 
much faster rate. The queen will only lay so many eggs a day. 
Alternating combs of brood with empty combs won't increase that rate. 
Increasing the volume of the broodnest won't increase that rate. I 
would expect the bees to reform their broodnest to its original size, 
once the brood nearer the outsides hatches.
Mike

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