>        How successfull is taking a hive full of swarm cells and dividing
>it into 3
>or 4 nucs depending on the brood and number of cells available?
 
Tom,
 
I split one hive into three 4-5 weeks ago after losing one swarm from the
hive and finding plenty of nice queen cells left. Needless to say, with the
first swarm already departed, I was working with a smaller population of
bees when doing the split, but I had plenty of sealed brood to work with.
The results have been good - all three hive have laying queens. I fed them
for two weeks, until the clover bloomed, but now I'm letting them build up
on the spring flow.
 
Greg
 
______________________________________________________________
Greg Hankins                    Montgomery Packaging
[log in to unmask]                 Troy, North Carolina
Voice: (910)576-0067            Fax: (910)576-0367