Pollen
New Bee
- Joined
- May 5, 2015
- Messages
- 21
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Sussex/Surrey
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 6
Hello! I've had a hive of bees for a year but I've noticed a problem that's not too easy to search for online, as the words used to describe it are common enough that all sorts of beekeeping things come up, so I wonder whether anyone has any suggestions for how to sort it? I've dipped into other threads on here in the past and found it to be a very useful place to come for just about everything bee related.
Just before I left them for winter, I noticed that only the last 3 (I think) frames on one side were full of brood. Early this spring, I had a look inside and found the same again - or rather a friend of mine found the same: I'd only checked just past the middle and assumed I'd gone queenless over the winter, as it was all just empty frames with lots of eggs dotted around as per laying workers. He came over and pulled out a frame from the other side which was quite healthy, and said that the bees would sort out whoever it was laying eggs all over the place.
Since then, I've had a look twice, and more than a month on from my first inspection, they're still the same with empty frames and worker eggs, then 3 or 4 frames of brood. On my last inspection, I pulled off the super directly above the brood box, and found that they'd built bridge comb between the brood box and the bottom of the super frames on the same side, and the bridge was full of brood where the comb split (I was going to go onto a brood-and-a-half this year, so left the excluder out). I can't remember where the brood in that super was though but I think it was concentrated on the same side.
I was hoping to have another look this weekend, but the weather forecast doesn't look too hopeful at the moment, but whenever I can, should I perhaps try moving the end frames with brood somewhere into the middle in the hope that they'll rediscover the full size of the brood box? Or perhaps put an excluder in, to force the brood sideways instead of up? Or let them get on with it? It shouldn't be that the East side (where the brood is) is any warmer than anywhere else as the South is open to sun for much of the day and the West isn't shaded until quite late. I might also try putting something under the mesh floor to see if it's to do with cold wind coming up from underneath.
In the meantime, there's lots of pollen going in all the time and the supers are getting fuller, so all seems to be in order apart from the fact that they are ignoring all of the space I'm giving them at the bottom.
Any thoughts?
I hope this is a sensible section to put this in - I'm definitely still a beginner, and the problem seems fairly minor and will probably be an easy fix, hence not jumping straight into the main beekeeping forum.
Just before I left them for winter, I noticed that only the last 3 (I think) frames on one side were full of brood. Early this spring, I had a look inside and found the same again - or rather a friend of mine found the same: I'd only checked just past the middle and assumed I'd gone queenless over the winter, as it was all just empty frames with lots of eggs dotted around as per laying workers. He came over and pulled out a frame from the other side which was quite healthy, and said that the bees would sort out whoever it was laying eggs all over the place.
Since then, I've had a look twice, and more than a month on from my first inspection, they're still the same with empty frames and worker eggs, then 3 or 4 frames of brood. On my last inspection, I pulled off the super directly above the brood box, and found that they'd built bridge comb between the brood box and the bottom of the super frames on the same side, and the bridge was full of brood where the comb split (I was going to go onto a brood-and-a-half this year, so left the excluder out). I can't remember where the brood in that super was though but I think it was concentrated on the same side.
I was hoping to have another look this weekend, but the weather forecast doesn't look too hopeful at the moment, but whenever I can, should I perhaps try moving the end frames with brood somewhere into the middle in the hope that they'll rediscover the full size of the brood box? Or perhaps put an excluder in, to force the brood sideways instead of up? Or let them get on with it? It shouldn't be that the East side (where the brood is) is any warmer than anywhere else as the South is open to sun for much of the day and the West isn't shaded until quite late. I might also try putting something under the mesh floor to see if it's to do with cold wind coming up from underneath.
In the meantime, there's lots of pollen going in all the time and the supers are getting fuller, so all seems to be in order apart from the fact that they are ignoring all of the space I'm giving them at the bottom.
Any thoughts?
I hope this is a sensible section to put this in - I'm definitely still a beginner, and the problem seems fairly minor and will probably be an easy fix, hence not jumping straight into the main beekeeping forum.
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