Keeping colony numbers low

[rickyd20]

If every season, you (may) have to perform AS on each hive when it begins swarm preparations, how are you supposed to keep the number of hives down to the amount you can manage? It sounds like you could end up with too many hives easily within a few years.
Are you able to recombine them some time after the AS?

 

[JEP]

You can combine anytime that suits in order to keep hive numbers down. Good times are around September as small colonies don't overwinter well and around now to boost the yield from your better colonies. Probably the best approach of all is to sell surplus bees whenever you have more than you want.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Artifical swarms when they want to go then later on, when swarming fever is over and you've established the new queen is well mated and productive give the old queen the fencepost treatment and re-unite. this also means you keep a stock with young queens

 

[Finman]

.
To get good honey yield, you must join the brood and swarm hive parts.

Hive needs foragers, but as well home bees which handle nectar and rippen honey.

If hive has not enough home bees, part of foragers must fo the job.... Less foragers

And that brood hive... Home bees, but less foragers.

If you have different hive parts, you have two queens which lay brood, instead of rearing one unit of brood.

 

[rickyd20]

Great thanks!
If you were to reunite, but use the old queen (crush the new one) I assume they would just want to swarm again quite quickly?

 

[enrico]

Not necessarily but new queens that are laying well are more likely to last longer! It is good to keep both hives going for a while, if the daughter is a 'bitch' then keep the old one, otherwise stick with the younger one. Your choice.
E