Brood and a half - inspections

[notmilk]

New beek alert!
I recently put a super on top of my single brood box, turning it into brood and a half (no QX). The bees have started building comb in the middle frames of the half, and I have BIAS in the main brood box.
During my inspection on Saturday I couldn't find the queen, though I did see eggs and larvae so I know she's in there...

My question is about inspections - do you go through the 'half' first, then put it aside to go through the brood box? If the queen is in the half, do you need to go through the brood box?

 

[iombeeman]

Hello new beek,
i have a question,why did you decide to change from a single brood box to a brood and 1/2? i am just curious to know peoples resaoning behind their decisions.

 

[notmilk]

The 11 frames in the brood box were full of bees, so I added the 'half' to give them more room. I have been led to understand that you need brood and a half in order to have a big enough colony to take through the winter...

 

[Erichalfbee]

It's too late to be encouraging brood and a half as the nest will be shrinking from now on. I am consolidation my brood and a half colonies down to one box for the winter.
You say your 11 frames were "full of bees". Bees or brood?
If you think they need space leave the super on and pop in an excluder.
I will shortly be taking my supers off to treat.
Re inspections.
You can get away with just looking in the top box where the colony tends to put swarm cells during the swarming season and if there is anything amiss then you have to look in the bottom but I guess you could miss QCs
If you do want to inspect both boxes then take off the top box carefully and look in the bottom one first.

 

[notmilk]

The box is full of bees, all 11 frames - so if I put in a qx will I need to find the queen in case she's in the half, and put her 'downstairs'?

 

[Cazza]

The box is full of bees, all 11 frames - so if I put in a qx will I need to find the queen in case she's in the half, and put her 'downstairs'?

Either that or pop one in anyway and then check again in 4 days. She will be in the box where the eggs are, which will make the job easier or non existent.
Cazza

 

[nickhodge]

I'm second year and toyed with Brood and a half and quickly went back. Inspecting 22 frames is a real pain, especially as my bees have full supers and are agitated anyhow at the minute.

I wish I had gone 14x12 (I know I still could but the expense of either Eke + Frames/Foundation and/or new brood box, let alone the delay in drawing comb, is more than I could bear currently). Oh to have taken more apiary visits before buying kit!

As a novice I too believed as the brood box filled with bees I would need to do something, but after my 'experience' my strongest colony has existed in a standard brood with two supers quite happily.

In my first year for sure I overwintered both colonies (I now have three) so there is certainly no necessity for brood and a half (I guess could be I am in the south). The main thing is that the bees in the hive overwinter are plenty enough to regulate temperature in the cluster and sustain with available food. If you have brood and a half (or I guess any number of brood boxes, you will need enough bees to keep the extra space warm anyhow.

The only benefit I can see is having a bigger colony emerging in spring???

Last point, an inspection is not just queen viewing/establishment. It is also stores/disease/pest/irregularity spotting.

 

[Finman]

New beek alert!
?

No one do inspections thatfore that is the queen home.

.

 

[Finman]

Inspecting 22 frames is a real pain, .

I do not use excluder and I have to inspect 70 frames if I want to see the queen.
But why I want to see the queen?

Normally queen is in the uppermost brood box. Queen is useally in a spot where is a dense cluster of bees. But like I said, you need not see the queen. You see from brood area, in what condition the queen is.

brood and half is pain.....yes it is. It do so much honey that my back do not stand such bargains.

.

 

[Finman]

and put her 'downstairs'?

oh dear!

 

[notmilk]

No one do inspections thatfore that is the queen home.

Sorry, maybe lost in translation?

oh dear!

Well, I would not want to trap her above qx would I?

So do I put a qx in or not?

 

[iombeeman]

what you could do is shake every bee down into the bottom box,put qx on top of that box and the queen will be in there.
brood and 1/2 is overated in my view,unless you have a very prolific queen.make life easy for yourself and your bees,stick to single brood box.

 

[enrico]

Don't make this too difficult for yourself. Just swap them round, put the brood box above the half. That way all the brood stays at the top, if they bring in extra stores they will put it all in the brood first and then, if they need more room they will fill the half. In early spring, on a cool day, just gently lift the bb and remove the half, any stores will have been used and they will have moved up back into the bb. No problem, no worries, easy
E

 

[Finman]

what you could do is shake every bee down into the bottom box,x.

Oh Lord in our collective heaven. Take hives away from those gansters!!!!

He wants to see a queen, and he must put the hive upside down. Something happened in translation, but problem is there, not here.

.

.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I'm second year and toyed with Brood and a half and quickly went back. Inspecting 22 frames is a real pain, especially as my bees have full supers and are agitated anyhow at the minute.

I wish I had gone 14x12

Ha! It doesn't always work.
I have two colonies on 14x12 and a shallow!

 

[BeeNice]

Don't make this too difficult for yourself. Just swap them round, put the brood box above the half. That way all the brood stays at the top, if they bring in extra stores they will put it all in the brood first and then, if they need more room they will fill the half. In early spring, on a cool day, just gently lift the bb and remove the half, any stores will have been used and they will have moved up back into the bb. No problem, no worries, easy
E

At last someone has put on the right solution, don't worry, if the hive is still active put the super under the brood box, and let the bees fill them as over winter stores. I have ended up with brood and half on a very strong colony, half on the bottom. I will leave them to it and get there stores in. Usually beekeeper put on a super to the brood box anyway for overwintering so you have all ready done it. You can sort it out next year.

 

[Swarm]

You don't need to inspect every frame.

 

[Finman]

New beek alert!
I recently put a super on top of my single brood box,


During my inspection on Saturday I couldn't find the queen, though I did see eggs and larvae so I know she's in there...

?

Everything is allright. You need not to do actually anything.
There are larvae, and it means that hive runs nornally tiwards winter.

Forecast shows that it is lots of rain and max 18C day temp. It would be advantage if you put the super under the brood box. Shut the mesh floor if it is open.

.

 

[notmilk]

thank you for the replies... I am loathe to open up again to put half underneath brood... so i'll go with finman's opinion - do nothing! (for now)