Hi All,
Just anticipating springtime here in NYC, and checking to see what you all think of what I usually do for the bees regarding my question - and what suggestions you have if you do things differently.
First some background:
I only use mediums. I don?t ever use excluders. I leave the bees with as many boxes as they want going into winter.
Presently, I have seven live colonies. 2 have six boxes, 5 have five boxes.
In the spring, I take that bottom box full of pollen and distribute it among the other boxes - in that particular colony. Then I put an empty box on the bottom with foundation and/or drawn comb if I have it.
I try to take out a few frames of honey and pollen and emptys from each colony for swarm calls and cutout jobs. In season, I get at least one swarm call a week, on average, and at least 5 cutout calls each season. Usually more.
What say you?