Giving the Honeybees a New Life

This has been a hard winter for Honeybees in this area. I thought I was the only one who'd lost lots of hives. Turns out my Bee Buddy, with close to 100 hives, is down to 35, ten of which are strong enough for splitting. I told him I'd give him my 7 (?) hives for 5 hives at the end of the summer. This summer is going to be busy, especially during splitting and swarming season, so he'll split from my hives and build them up, using my incoming queens and pollen, and give me back 5 regular size hives either this fall (preferable for him) or next spring (probably splits), in my equipment. I'm paying for his labor with my queens and pollen, and he's returning me to where I started. I shed the worry and he can, hopefully, do OK with the bees. It will be a shot in the arm for him, helping him to build up his numbers, and a relief to me.