another question

slider955i · Jul 6, 2010

even though i am putting supers on when required can the brood box get over crowded ?

is it an idea to remove some of the frames that have capped honey stores on them and replace with empty frames ?

many thanks in advance :seeya:

oliver90owner · Jul 6, 2010

Yes it can. Depends on what you want to do with them.

A head start on another box. Some honey to extract. Some frames of stores as a back-up for the end of the season when battening down the colony for the winter.

You could put them in a brood box beneath the nest (under a Q/E) and they will move them up - hopefully to the super. All options available to you, possibly with a couple more to follow.

Another might be to just give them another box for brood. Can't remember how many times it has been written on the forum that many strains are too prolific for a single standard National brood box.

Regards, RAB

grizzly · Jul 6, 2010

Even a Langstroth can prove insufficient, something ive experienced the last couple of years.

Haughton Honey · Jul 6, 2010

oliver90owner said:
Can't remember how many times it has been written on the forum that many strains are too prolific for a single standard National brood box.

Regards, RAB

Many!

I inspected a double National hive yesterday that has a Buckfast queen. The hive was purposefully 'demareed' on 12th June in order to generate supercedure QCs in the upper brood box, all of which have now successfully hatched and mated elsewhere.

The two National brood boxes (11 DN4 frames plus a dummy board in each box) contained THIRTEEN full frames of brood with no evidence of QCs.....and no evidence of her stopping!!

The hive has three supers on containing Manley frames fitted with CC foundation.

Poly Hive · Jul 6, 2010

Your hive tool has a wide end for a very good reason. Use it....

Bruise the cappings and put the bruised frame in the middle of the brood nest.

Repeat for as long as they lay it up.

Called: "working the brood box".

PH