Excessive laying

[Beagle23]

I have a first year queen in one of my hives and she's not only filled the brood box with eggs but she's filled a super and moving on to a second (obviously I'm not using a QX).

Ordinarily I'd add another brood box and be unconcerned, but at this time of year it seems excessive and with so many brood coming through I'm concerned thy're going to burn through their winter stores.

thoughts?

 

[enrico]

My thoughts are that you are lucky to have a strong hive.
E

 

[madasafish]

Double brood box and feed like crazy - is what I would do.

 

[Beagle23]

My thoughts are that you are lucky to have a strong hive.
E

If she'd got her groove on back in June I would have been thrilled.

 

[Beagle23]

Double brood box and feed like crazy - is what I would do.

Well she's in to the supers now so I'll see how that pans out, but yes I think you're right, lot's of feeding and an eventual move to double brood

 

[Fritillary]

As a matter of interest: can you see yet how much she'd laid is drone?

 

[Beagle23]

As a matter of interest: can you see yet how much she'd laid is drone?

Hardly any from what I've seen. Probably just as well as the drones were kicked out of both my hives very early this year

 

[madasafish]

Hardly any from what I've seen. Probably just as well as the drones were kicked out of both my hives very early this year

lots of drones still here although little forage except HB...

 

[SDM]

I'd be far more surprised by a queen that only needed a single national brood box to lay in than one that needed more.

 

[Noddy]

Some 'Buckfast' bees have the nasty habit of turning food into brood; not storing any nectar for winter use, or not having the capacity to do so because there are so many bees it is consumed as soon as they bring it in/are fed.

I have my tin hat ready....

 

[Finman]

.
However, queens do not lay more than they lay.

One thing could be that ventilation in lover box is too big and Queen rises to lay to upper warmer boxes. First box may be empty of brood and is only a pollen store.

My understanding is such that you do not have there much yield, and that is why brooding is not at its best.

But one box brood is not much. Such is poor queen.

When it is time to feed for winter, collect brood frames to lowest box, and no brood to upper. Then feed the hive full of sugar.

If you have left the honey yield into the hive, they will consume it during next 1,5 months. Expencive beekeeping such.
.

Everything is OK in your hive, even if things go different way than what you have thought.
.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

I would be expecting queens to be throttling back their laying at this time of year.

 

[Fritillary]

I would be expecting queens to be throttling back their laying at this time of year.

Mine seem to feel it's still the time of year for colonising the county! Drone brood being produced, and one swarming a few days ago. The days are getting shorter for sure, but the weather is good and they've lots of stores I suppose.

 

[masterBK]

Why would you want to feed if they just turn it into more bees. Bit early to produce winter bees so assume normal summer bees being produced. What will all these bees do if the honey flow is over ? (EAT!). My queens are all slowing down and I am getting ready to treat for Varroa with Apivar in a week or so. I keep my bees on double broods and during July they were typicaly laying around 16 to 17 frames of brood. They are now down to about 10 to 12 frames of brood and backfilling with stores (mostly pollen)

 

[Beagle23]

Thanks for all of the replies.

To address a few points.
The brood box and nearly two supers are full of brood, so the queen isn't moving up because of ventilation issues.

I'm not feeding yet, in fact I usually leave enough stores that I rarely need to feed in the winter.

It's the timing that confuses me, the fact that she's laying so prodigiously in August just as the flow is coming to an end.

Buckfast - no heritage of Buckfast but then she may have bumped into a few Buckfast Casanovas on her mating flight.

On a side note, the bees she's produced have been the best I've had, large and gentle and hard workers, much better than the psychotic black things her grandmother was producing

 

[Curly green fingers]

I have a first year queen in one of my hives and she's not only filled the brood box with eggs but she's filled a super and moving on to a second (obviously I'm not using a QX).

Ordinarily I'd add another brood box and be unconcerned, but at this time of year it seems excessive and with so many brood coming through I'm concerned thy're going to burn through their winter stores.

thoughts?

I'm in a similar possion with one of mine that superseded , bias in brood and two Half's they have a super with 6 frames of capped honey above that the queen is laying in any given space no qx either.
I was thinking if your flows have slowed or stopped then the queen will slow down naturally
And the foragers also will be dieing of in the coming weeks .