From: Barry Birkey <barry@birkey.com>
Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2001 11:45:02 -0500
To: <BiologicalBeekeeping@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: Shake Down Methods

Howdy Clay -

> Tough loss Barry. Sorry to hear this, I was under the impression one 4.9mm
> colony survived.

One of the colonies lasted 4 to 6 weeks longer than the other. By the time I
was able to open the hive up and see the relatively small cluster up under
the inner cover, reverse the hive bodies and insulate the hive, it was just
too late to do any good.

> Barry, do you really think over 50% loss on regressed hives the first year?
> Do you happen to know Dee's loss on first year of regression(%)?

This has been the experience of others. Actually 50% may not even make it
through the shakedown process. Some bees will be in too poor of health due
to various factors that they won't be able to adjust to the rapid change and
it is these bees that you don't want anyway. Survival of the fittest will be
the key here so that you end up with bees able to move ahead. Another 50%
may not make it through the first winter. You better be sold on this idea
and determine ahead of time that you will be in it for the long haul if you
want to get through the first couple years. A lot of work, but once done,
should prove to be easier than now.

The main goal the first year should be to get a supply of drawn 4.9 combs.
Should the bees survive the winter, an added bonus and consider yourself
fortunate. Once you have the combs, the next year can be one of growing
colony numbers with the proper sized combs. Putting a queen on 4.9 comb will
give you "4.9" bees the first time around. From there you progressively
increase and move forward.

You will also have to think through your usual queen replacement practice.
By regressing your bees down, the last thing you will want to do is buy
queens. You have to start working with the queens you have and using the
local stock to acclimate to your area for survivability. As Dee often says,
follow the bees and work with their natural abilities, not against them.

Read this to see how the numbers played out with the Lusby's.

http://www.beesource.com/news/article/lusbyNZ.htm

Regards,
Barry