> No skepticism, so long as you've run marked queens to confirm that no swarming has taken place : )

After 45 years of beekeeping, I think I can tell if a hive has swarmed or not. If I can't tell (by the loss of honey production, for example) then it makes no difference. The loss of marked queen is not proof, anyway. A colony that supersedes without a loss in production is a winner. 

But seriously, I split the hives during swarming season (May) and they are not inclined to swarm then or later. This region gets the best flows in July-Sept, so you can make a full crop with a package, nuc, or weak split started in May. In fact the late flows are the most reliable.

PLB

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