Common hive smell

[jenkinsbrynmair]

So, in structural terms, unite/combine brood boxes from the vertical split stack with a queen excluder in between and a queen either side? I may have to look this up but perhaps you could give me the short answer but if yes, already l can see l’ll need a separate entrance for drone escape. The best part in all this would be a way to move brood boxes from on high so as to look more easily at the basement bees.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Any brood laid by the Queen from now on won't be even a house bee for 3 weeks, let alone a forager..

so you think they just sit around doing bugger all for three weeks?! hive dynamics are not progressed by set in stone numbers (you're thinking like them on the dark side)

 

[Do224]

Timing a temporary foraging boost to match a hoped for main flow and eventually to reduce to one box for overwintering. Have l got it right?......if all uncertainties hold good.

How do you go about reducing to one box for winter...is it just a case of shaking them into one box and storing the surplus frames until next year?

 

[Do224]

View attachment 27168View attachment 27169

Would you need to have the brood boxes separated by a couple of supers for this to work or can they just be one on top of the other?

Presume top entrance should point out the back or side rather than same way as bottom entrance?

 

[North End Bees]

so you think they just sit around doing bugger all for three weeks?! hive dynamics are not progressed by set in stone numbers (you're thinking like them on the dark side)

No, you're misconstruing what I said.
Any new brood won't be sitting around doing nothing. They will be in the cell developing ready to emerge in 3 weeks.
The existing brood and nurse bees will still be in the main hive. (Only needs minimum brood to go in the nuc with the second queen.)

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Would you need to have the brood boxes separated by a couple of supers for this to work

Not necessary, but desirable

Presume top entrance should point out the back or side rather than same way as bottom entrance?

No, it can point the same way - all mine do

 

[Hiveanidea]

How do you go about reducing to one box for winter...is it just a case of shaking them into one box and storing the surplus frames until next year?

Well, l’m thinking this would happen after harvest or the main flow period as bee numbers naturally reduce. I imagine l would insert a QE between the two brood boxes with the queen under and as brood hatches remove/re-arrange frames as they become free/ hopefully before any stores get deposited in them.

 

[Hiveanidea]

Not necessary, but desirable

No, it can point the same way - all mine do

Thanks for the photos of the QE slot board. Back to my vertical split and what to do for the best......options!!
No increase in apiary numbers! Keeping both queens productive for the time being seems logical, but with supers in between is pretty well what l have at the moment with the stack. I was aiming to bring the upper brood box down from its lofty height and form a double brood box arrangement. You say ‘not necessary to have supers between them’ so what would be the consequence of just placing such a board in between the brood boxes and accumulating all the supers together on top - will they fight?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

No

 

[Hiveanidea]

No

So in that respect, individual queen pheromone doesn’t play a part?
So what is the particular reason for using that special board in the photo in place of a standard queen excluder?
Naturally l’ll need something to keep the two queens apart and also put a QE under the supers too.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

So in that respect, individual queen pheromone doesn’t play a part?
So what is the particular reason for using that special board in the photo in place of a standard queen excluder?
Naturally l’ll need something to keep the two queens apart and also put a QE under the supers too.

It's for Demmarree's the reduced QX area is restrict the amount of queen pheromone going up the the top box, it also means that I only had to buy one stamped QX to make up 20+ of these boards. The top entrance just serves as an exit for any drones trapped in the top box (not particularly necessary as opening up once a week will let them out) but also enables a virgin queen in the top box to get out and mate (a sort of induced supersedure which I sometimes do)