new to beesource. got questions and will find answers here i hope...

[remmy]

I'm new to beesource. I'm a beekeeper in Southren.MN This is my 1st year getting back into bees. I have 15 wintered colonies that are Mn hygentics. I bought 20-2# packages 1st of may. I'm looking to split the 20 packages every week till Sept. I hope to have 200-400 singles for pollination by thanksgiving. I'm posting here to get input on how to accomplish this in a reasonable time frame. I accomplished this 5yrs ago. Than while in pollination in CA 2009-2010 season I suffered greatly from the colony collapse dissorder. I lost 290 colonies and saved only 130 from disease. So any info I can obtain thrum beesource is greatly appreciated. Remmy

[casinoken]

Being in MN, I think u may have lofty goals if you expect to overwinter with any success, but that is coming from a Mississippi beek, where we basically don't have winter.

[MrHappy]

I've been reading here a LOT and never heard of anyone trying to turn 20 new hives into 200 in 5 months. Guess it might be poss, but since it take about a month to grow a new queen and have her fertilized, and they drones are going to be kicked out in a few months, and you will never be able to get enough stores for all of them to make it through the winter, even here in Ca, I don't see it going well. But I'm pretty new here so maybe someone that does it will have more suggestions.

Just thinking that one way that might help is to breed your own queens ahead. Make 50+ queens at a time and put them in nucs. You can then throw some workers in there and hope they can feed and keep her warm enough. You will have to really have good laying queens and they have to really be making wax on the frames since you will have to have enough frames loaded with wax that when the new queens come back they can have some place to lay, and enough workers to bring in enough pollen and syrup to feed the new eggs. I don't see it though. 1 new hive to 10 in 5 months, unlikely. Maybe 3-4.

[AmericasBeekeeper]

Welcome Remmy! I am thinking that is biologically impossible. Even with mated queens on a constant flow or feeding syrup and protein they cannot build up fast enough to sustain a colony a week. I was a splitting king back before shb, varroa and all the new diseases and every two weeks was pushing it with 5 frame nucs or the observation hive.
The only way it even seems to work is that Varroa will not be over threshold until that winter.

[remmy]

I know ive got hi hopes. Remember I have now 30strong colonies and 20colonies that are beginners. Queens are made prior. Mated queens lay in 15days. If I do everything right 50 colonies to 200 is only 3 splits.I will not be wintering in Mn. Going south for winter. Looking for a place to go other than CA. Rather stay away from the pollination of almonds.Thinking Alabama,mlssourri,Kentucky, or Florida. If any1 got a good area down there id be interested in renting land to set out my bees and stay to care for them. Thanks Remmy