Subject: (no subject)

From: "Theodore V. Fischer" <[email-masked]>
Date: 13 Feb 1996 20:17:43 GMT

Pardon me for using the newsgroup in this way: I was recently contacted
 for advice on setting up 2-queen colonies by Donald Franson, who
 evidently gave me a wrong e-mail address. Since I couldn't get back to
 you, Don, I'll post the info here, because it well may be of more
 general interest as well.

The way I usually set up 2-queen colonies is this: In late April or
 early May I split the largest hives each into two hive bodies,
 separated by a double screen board, making sure there is a drilled
 hole (or other opening) for each front entrance.  I let it sit for at
 least two days, but no more than four, so that I can easily spot the
 queenless half by the lack of eggs.  Then I introduce the new queen
 into the queenless half-colony.  I usually spray both the colony and
 the new queen with 1:1 sugar solution, then put in the queen still
 within the queen cage.  If she is not released in three days, I open
 the cage and release her.

If by any chance the new queen is not accepted by her half of the colony
 one can just take out the divider and recombine them.  If however, the
 new queen is accepted, I let both halves of the original colony grow
 together for about a month, both producing brood until a large
 population is built up.  Then, just before the main honey flow, remove
 the divider and just let the queens decide who should remain - it
 is usually the new one.  Actually in such a large colony, the queens
 may not even come into contact for quite awhile.  Each will continue to
 lay eggs and circulate through the hive until a chance meeting is made.

The colony population will expand to a very large size - an advantage as
 well as a disadvantage.  Usually I need three deep brood chambers to
 accomodate all the bees, and on top of that I stack up to six or seven
 supers (medium depth).  As you can imagine, I need to set up
 scaffolding to be able to reach the upper supers - and yes, I have had
 fully capped supers all the way up to seven high!  It is hard to work
 the bees this way, and perhaps one should extract honey sooner and just
 replace the supers, but I never seem to have the time earlier in the
 summer.  The other disadvantage is what to do with all these bees once
 the honey flow is over.  I haven't really been able to adequately work
 this one out.  I'd like to take advantage of a fall honey flow, but if
 I don't get Apistan in on time -late August for me-, the entire hive
 will die out (as happened to me last fall).  So the bees just sit in
 front on the hive after harvest.  Occasionally they will even swarm in
 late August or early September!

The advantage, of course, is honey.  I often average about 200 pounds
 per colony, and have approached 300.  It is fun to see and hear such a
 large hive working in the middle of a good flow!