10 frame brood. silly me

[queenie]

I am now in my second summer of beekeeping. Started last summer with two nucs and put them in nationals. One colony has flourished and was left over winter with a almost full super (no QE) and I have kept one and a half. Early this season I realized that in the excitement of having my first colonies I made a mistake and put only 10 frames in both brood boxes. Problem is that now I'm really struggling to manage pulling any frames out for inspection. To make matters worse, in the one and a half hive they have also laid a lot of drone down between the BB and Super. At the moment I'm unsure of any option but to hope and pray. Any suggestions other than I should have done my reading.

 

[Poly Hive]

Drone brood between the BB and sup? Is the spacing wrong?

As for your ten and not 11, really all you can do is to use your hive tool to gently scrape off the propolis and re-establish the spacing. Or leavt it for this season and sort it out next spring.

PH

 

[oliver90owner]

Apart from being perplexed at how you actually did it - unless using castellated spacers - I fear the easiest way might be a Bailey-type frame change and later recover any frames that are not too misshapen if brace-combed in securely.

If on castellated spacers (so perfectly even spacing), simply changing the spacers for plain runners and using plastic or metal ends may get over the problem. Now, if you have hoffmans and gaps, the frame sidebars are probably propolised together.

So a little more info/detail on your present arrangement may help to gain better advice without the guessing - frame type, spacing arrangement, what is actually restricting frame removal ar some that may be helpful.

Were these new hives or secondhand? If the latter you might even hae top and bottom bee space items - unlikely, but a possibility.

Regards, RAB

 

[queenie]

Yes, my first thought was that I ended up with the wrong frames and my sup frames were too short on top ???? I did ask for national super frames when I purchased. Is there another way (or many)I could have gotten this wrong? I don't want to make the same mistake again, but it looks as though this hive is going to be my "hands-off" experiment hive. As long as they don't swarm away I'll be happy, as I've just put second super on this spring and they seem very healthy.

 

[queenie]

Using castellated spacers on new hives. One of the beeks in the club said to use them. I will try to get a picture shortly.

 

[oliver90owner]

Castellated spacers in a brood box are a bear. Initially ALL frames bar one have to be lifted vertically past the adjacent frame, so no option of 'easing them sideways' to break brace comb and also to avoid any 'rolling' of the bees.

I don't even like them in supers, as the frame spacing (ie number of frames) is fixed and I like to maximise the honey storage in each super (more honey extracted per filling of the extractor as well, fewer cappings - to remove, and clean up, too). I can get away with using a few less sheets of foundation as well. It all adds up in time, effort, expenditure and storage.

But it is all your own choice and you will do what you prefer.

BTW, if only one of the (many) beeks in the LBKA said that, perhaps (s)he was actually in the minority! You need to take a fair cross section of opinion (with reasons to support those opinions) before you jump in at the 'deep end'!

Regards, RAB

 

[newportbuzz]

i am not sure if i have this right but here goes!

you are on brood and a half with no qx.
just add a new brood box on top of the super of your brood and a half. make sure the spacing is right in this brood box as the box is drawn H.M. should move up to it.
any q cells should be on the bottom of your super frames anyway so you don't loose to much ability to inspect. when you are sure they are out of the bottom box take it away.
You can speed this process up by bruising comb with stores which will make the bees move it up. makin space for H.M. upwards.

now i might be very wrong about H.M's movements within a unrestricted hive throughout the summer. but more experienced beeks will see this post and weigh in i am sure.