Hi Jim,
In answer to your questions....
Do you use swarm traps ??
Yes, we leave small nucs in sheltered, (from rain and sun) places. Painting the inside walls with melted wax seems to help. The entrance should be very small. Swarms usually move in, in Nov/Dec. They stay for a few days and then move on. We have also noticed that swarms like to hang out, (literally) underneath orchid baskets, so these can act like a swarm trap. Over the years, we have had very little success in transferring caught swarms to new boxes. They stay a few days and then move on.
What do you do about the big Asian hornets. That eat honey bees ??
Asian hornets, especially Vespa tropica, can be a nuisance during the wet season. They can surround the hive entrance, preventing any traffic. A. cerana is unusual in that the foragers collect tiny quantities of chicken or pig manure and deposit it around the entrance. This is believed to deter hornets. The entrance hole must be small enough to prevent hornets being able to enter the hive. If the colony is strong they can defend themselves by cooking any hornet scouts that manage to enter the hive, Vespa velutina, (although very proficient at catching A. mellifera foragers), seems unable to catch returning A. cerana workers effectively, which return to their colony fast. If hornet pressure gets too great then the whole colony will relocate. However, they (or a colony like them) will usually return after 4-5 months.
How about making colony split ??
Our A. cerana colonies produce swarms on a fairly regular basis. We don't deliberately do splits.
A few other points that may be of interest..
A cerana honey in our area is dark and even if it has been capped will still ferment within a few months of collecting.
We have tried the Japanese box pile method (plenty of videos on You tube- a few times but have not been successful. This is a very nice system.
Hope some of this is useful.