If frames are shorter, they will fit (temporarily). But nowhere to move the longer frames? Simpler to place a queen excluder (over the queen) and wait for the brood to emerge. Remove supers if not required - which they are likely not at present.
Help - Trying to avoid my usual mistakes
- Thread starter davidparker999
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If frames are shorter, they will fit (temporarily). But nowhere to move the longer frames? Simpler to place a queen excluder (over the queen) and wait for the brood to emerge. Remove supers if not required - which they are likely not at present.
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- Oct 16, 2012
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- Location
- Fareham, Hampshire UK
- Hive Type
- 14x12
- Number of Hives
- 6
Looking back ... the OP has two hives ... one with a mix of deep and extra deep ... one of them has queen cups and both hives have a variety of BIAS on frames ...
Thinking about it I might be inclined to split the two colonies into three - obviously one of them is going to be queenless but as long as there are eggs or very young brood in there then they have the ability to make a queen. The OP found the queen in one boxpreviously so with a bit of luck he could find her again. Reducing the colony sizes will reduce the likelihood of them swarming, get rid of the double brood boxes with some judicial moving of frames and perhaps, in due course, get all three colonies into the same size boxes. With colonies in extra deep Langstroth boxes and apparently growing at the rate they are then they should be honey producers this season if there is forage available and he can prevent them from swarming ... The options with three hives are increased - the split could be a saleable colony .. £250 is quite a few jars of honey ...or another colony to bring on ...
There's always several workable answers to a situation like this ... lots of bees and queenright hives are not a problem - just an opportunity.
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