pcooley
03-26-2008, 01:48 PM
Here in Northern New Mexico, the apricot trees are just beginning to bloom. I've been going through my eight top bar hives, and I'm amazed at how many bees I already have.
I started out with one hive two years ago and was quickly swarmed into being a small business. We had a good year at last year's farmer's market off that original 3 lb package of bees. I might have to make a raft of splits again this spring. I'm very concerned about swarming because I live in a very dense suburban area, and I don't want to disturb my neighbors.
I've gone through half of my hives, and they are all a little over half full of bees and brood. Drone production is also well underway. It looks as if the first half of the brood has emerged, and there are plenty of spaces for the queen to lay.
Honestly, I would rather keep my operation very small again this year, (eight hives), but I have other yard space available from friends and neighbors for about 24 more hives.
Are there any rules of thumb, this early in the spring, to gauge whether you HAVE to make splits to hold down swarming? How many bees do other people have this time of year?
I started out with one hive two years ago and was quickly swarmed into being a small business. We had a good year at last year's farmer's market off that original 3 lb package of bees. I might have to make a raft of splits again this spring. I'm very concerned about swarming because I live in a very dense suburban area, and I don't want to disturb my neighbors.
I've gone through half of my hives, and they are all a little over half full of bees and brood. Drone production is also well underway. It looks as if the first half of the brood has emerged, and there are plenty of spaces for the queen to lay.
Honestly, I would rather keep my operation very small again this year, (eight hives), but I have other yard space available from friends and neighbors for about 24 more hives.
Are there any rules of thumb, this early in the spring, to gauge whether you HAVE to make splits to hold down swarming? How many bees do other people have this time of year?