advice (or hopefully) reassurance please

[starcana]

The weather in Cornwall for the past three weeks has been wet and cold without a break so I kept reading the advice on here, so long as they have feed or stores (which both my colonies did - fondant in December, liquid in February) DON'T open up to try to inspect.
Today is lovely, warm and sunny so out I went to do a clean up, full inspection and hopefully, super up.

Hive 1 - great, loads of bees, loads of stores, BIAS on virtually every frame, all cleaned up and put super on.

Hive 2 - now these were my girls that last year made loads of comb with masses of honey in the brood box and all around the top of frames, crown board (I know there's a name for that but can't remember it!) but refused to draw frames in the super (or even venture up there) no matter what tricks I tried (eg taking off QE).

Today, they'd excelled themselves again - masses of comb and honey virtually filling the eek that I'd left on from their Feb feed (although as it's a WBC I guess they would have just building above the frames and crown board anyway. Now there was some shiny white larva (not masses, but noticeable) in with the comb and honey.

So, I decided too late to inspect broad box, too much disturbance when obviously all seems well. Scraped off all the comb and honey, added a super (which obviously I should have done a few weeks ago) and then above the crown box put all the lumps of comb with honey in a try, so they can still have it, hopefully to quickly get on and fill the first super.

No tellings off please - were these all the right decisions????? Thanks and sorry for long post.

 

[starcana]

tray not try, though I guess I'm very trying

 

[REDWOOD]

If you had BIAS on every frame then a double brood would have been better

 

[iand]

If the the poor weather carries on & you have a lot young bees emerging, say a couple of batches of brood, then the number of mouths to feed will escalate rapidly. Although with food in the brace comb its sounds as if you may ok for now but that could change quite quickly if the weather remains poor.
I would go along with Redwood in suggesting a double brood box for now, however with any box you put on, the bees will use it when they are good and ready, & not according to our wishes or expectations. This usually means some incoming food either to store as honey or to rear more brood with.

 

[RosieMc]

What's a BIAS?????

 

[VEG]

Brood In All Stages BIAS

 

[Richard Elder]

Brood in all Stages (BIAS)

SNAP!!!