My hope is to do a split of my existing hive and providing a mated queen for the "other" half. Since I'm also getting a package of Russians I thought I would provide them with a couple of frames of drawn comb w/brood to help them get started. I was thinking of doing all the manipulations at the same time. ei taking a couple of frames from the existing hive and installing the package, then removing the existing queen and 8 frames into a new 8 frame hive(i'm giving 8 framers a try for comparison) at a different location. Then providing a mated queen for the remaining half of my original hive at the original location. My concern is the early date that I have to pick up the package(april 11th) from Warm Colors apiary in MA. Obviously every year has different weather, so I'm asking for generalized recommendations. Is this too early for my locale?
Thanks in advance.
FH