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THE GREAT DIVIDE <br /> • A strong, healthy colony that survives the winter will likely swarm in late spring or early summer. Swarming is <br /> the bees' natural form of colony reproduction. However, allowing a colony to swarm in urban areas presents a <br /> risk if the bees nest in a nearby home or outbuilding and become a nuisance, possibly ending in extermination. <br /> In rural areas, allowing a colony to swarm may not present the same risk to the neighbors, but it may <br /> mean reduced honey production as the remaining colony (the bees that did not take off) will have a smaller <br /> population of foragers when the main honey flow starts. <br /> To prevent swarming, you should divide (also called "splitting") the strong colony in early to mid-May before <br /> bees have the natural tendency to swarm (before "swarming season"). Spilt the strong wintered colony into <br /> two (these are called divides). To make your divides, transfer half of the bees, brood and food resources <br /> of the original colony into a second hive set-up, and introduce a new queen into the new colony you have <br /> engineered. <br /> Remember the 4 Principles of Productive Beekeeping: <br /> 1. Every colony must be protected in equipment with removable frames and located in a good apiary site. <br /> 2. Every colony must have a young, prolific queen. <br /> 3. Every colony must have adequate honey and pollen reserves at all times. <br /> 4. Every colony must be monitored and managed for diseases and mites, and treated only when <br /> necessary. <br /> O -141:.-1. <br /> Biology Box <br /> Swarms and Divides <br /> Words of Wisdom <br /> Swarming is colony reproduction; the Too ManyColonies <br /> superorganism's way of making two from one (see <br /> section called "Swarms"). Making divides follows <br /> the same concept but allows the beekeeper to In beekeeping, sometimes we are faced with "good <br /> keep both halves rather than letting the swarm problems."An example: if all your colonies survive <br /> fly off to find a new nest site, taking the queen winter, then your number of colonies may grow <br /> with them. Dividing strong colonies provides an beyond your space, time, or financial capacities. <br /> opportunity to introduce young, prolific queens, Remember that hobby beekeepers in Minnesota <br /> which is one of the four principles of productive have on average a 60% colony mortality over <br /> beekeeping to ensure colony survival. winter each year(refer to section on "Colony <br /> Death"). The reality is that one of your colonies <br /> One major difference between a swarm and a may die over the winter, especially while you are <br /> divide is this: in a swarm, the mated queen leaves learning. Colony mortality is an unfortunate part of <br /> with the swarm, while the half of the colony that beekeeping, but with attention and experience, the <br /> remains in the box raises a new queen. In a risk of losing colonies can be lowered. <br /> divide, the beekeeper can leave the mated queen <br /> with the original "parent" colony, and introduce If you do end up with too many colonies, contact <br /> a new queen into the new box containing brood a local beekeeping club to see if a beekeeper is <br /> and food combs transferred from the parent. interested in purchasing the colony. In particular, <br /> Other beekeepers prefer to use this opportunity to any beekeepers on the local bee group's swarm <br /> introduce a new queen into both colonies, getting contact list are likely to be interested in the bees. <br /> rid of the old queen altogether. <br /> Beekeeping in Northern Climates 55 <br />