Brood + 1/2

[Torq]

Quick question. National hive.

My good layer is on 7 frames of brood and will be out of space soon so I want to go brood + 1/2. The question is, brood over or under laying super? My guess is brood under super.


Crown Crown
Super Super
Q exc or Q Exc
Super Brood
Brood Super


There are supposed to be spaces between the words above but they aren't displaying.

TIA.

Torq

 

[oliver90owner]

Ask yourself which is heavier. Then think about inspections. If it is a brood it is not a super.

 

[Torq]

Ask yourself which is heavier. Then think about inspections. If it is a brood it is not a super.

Good answer, on top it is! Could it not be called a brood super? Is the name "super" not just an abreviation of "superior" in reference to it's position? Aren't what we commonly call a super more correctly called a "honey super" ?

 

[FreeFall]

super-
from L. adverb and preposition super "above, over, on the top (of), beyond, besides, in addition to," from PIE base *uper "over" (cf. Skt. upari, Avestan upairi "over, above, beyond," Gk. hyper, O.E. ofer "over," Goth. ufaro "over, across," Gaul. ver-, O.Ir. for), comparative of base *upo "under."

Mmmm, should we call a 'super under' an upo?

 

[Finman]

.
It is better use 2 brood system. It flexible when you handle frames and when you renew combs.
Turming brood boxes is quite important for many reasons.

 

[MandF]

They are technically called shallows and deeps, and 'super' means 'above'. So your brood & half is on a brood deep + brood shallow.

Having said that, we know what you mean!

Also, your initial thoughts about how they should be arranged is correct - the deep on the bottom, the shallow on top, because when you want to inspect the whole hive you only have to move the shallow off the hive to get to the deep, not vice versa.

 

[Finman]

.
When you control your hive build up, you need not "inspect the whole hive".
When you have two brood, the lowest box has old evil bees and the whole summes goes that you need not open the lowest box not at all. All which happens, it happens in upper brood box.
And you need not to see the queen every time when you open the hive.

Couple of hives and it it too big job to "make full inspection" what ever it means.

When you have 2 brood, then you pile 6 supers during Summer and cacth a good yield.

.

 

[drstitson]

our italian friends just use NIDO and MELARIO respectively.

 

[Polyanwood]

what about buying an eke and going onto 14 x 12? A lot easier. I bought a flat pack eke for just over £20 and it fits really snuggly on top of brood box after you take the runners out of the brood.

 

[oliver90owner]

I bought a flat pack eke for just over £20

£20! Eeeke!! I make them for fitting under the deep box. No need to remove runners and cost about four quid (mine are slightly simpler than bbs)! I would think changing to 14 x 12 is relatively expensive, what with no frames (unless perhaps going to buy some seconds somewhere) or foundation at this time. But I do agree, 14 x 12 might be a better format than brood and a half.

 

[george]

IS a better format than brood and a half .

 

[oliver90owner]

IS a better format than brood and a half .

For you it might be, but perhaps not for EVERYONE.

 

[Finman]

IS a better format than brood and a half .

3 brood is better. That is why I use it.

 

[DanBee]

See below...

 

[MandF]

Whats it called when someone uses a deep and a shallow brood box?

 

[DanBee]

Whats it called when someone uses a deep and a shallow brood box?

Brood and a half.

 

[MandF]

Thats never the answer you said ;-)

 

[Polyanwood]

The eke fits so snuggly on top of the normal brood box that it doesn't move about at all. It is about 4 inches deep and makes a standard National into a 14 x12 and is a lot cheaper than buying new 14 x 12 brrod boxes.


Saying that one of my 14 x 12 boxes was over full yeasterday - lots of bees in roof and 11 frames of brood. I put it on brood and a half. I was happy it was so big, becuase that colony will give a Spring crop, but I was surprised that 14 x 12 was not big enough for Buckfast bees.

 

[Torq]

14 x 12 might be a better format than brood and a half.

Probably, but I have 50 new national brood and 100 super frames (Th**ne* sale) and I'm going to use them up before I consider a hive format change. So I'm looking to utilise what I have till then.

 

[oliver90owner]

and 100 super frames

It's only the deeps you need worry about. I only lose broken frames and then recycle parts to make complete frames. You could be years before you consider a change! Unless you 'bite the bullet' and do it.