RE: early and plentiful swarms: I visitied my bees, 100 km north of Ottawa where apple blossoms are still a week away. The hives were full of bees, so much so that I felt compelled to put a super over one of them for fear of swarming - so early! Normally, I don't super until the beginning of June. If the weather holds, this could be a VERY GOOD YEAR! Marc Patry