Honey in brood box

[maninthecwm]

I have a national hive on a brood and a half. At the moment the deep is on top of the shallow box with supers on top. After harvesting the super I looked in the deep box and there are at least 4 fully capped deep frames of honey, this may have been partly due to lack of space while I was on holiday.

Should I:

1. leave alone ( honey to be used as stores in winter)

2. reverse the deep and shallow maybe uncapping the deep frames and leaving the supers on top. Will the bees move the honey up into the super?

3. Extract honey from some of the deep frames then reverse the boxes?

 

[Gardenbees]

? If this was my hive, I wouldn't see it as a problem. I want mine to start building up honey stores for the winter, and the brood box is where I want those stores to be. If you're overwintering them on a brood and an half, then the honey can be anywhere in the two boxes (personally I'd probably put the shallower box on top, but I don't suppose the bees mind either way).

If you really want to be able to collect as much honey as possible you could always extract the honey from the brood box frames I suppose, and then feed them to make up the difference, but it seems a bit greedy!

 

[drstitson]

For many people winter feeding has already started in earnest.

You'll just have less to feed than expected!

BTW why do you run B+1/2 with the super below - that's what many people do over winter BUT in season most (if not all) other beeks on B+1/2 have the super on top - for no reason other than not needing to lift the heavier box when inspecting!!!!!

 

[Chris Luck]

You'll just have less to feed than expected!

Ideally not at all, and far from being a problem it's how your colonies should be at this time of year if they are behaving normally.

Chris

 

[For want of a better word]

One of my colonies on a Double Brood Box standard frame Nationals has 8 full DN4s filled with capped stores.......... 4 per box.. That belongs to them and only a greedy beek would steal it away from them IMCO !!!

Latzertz

 

[maninthecwm]

Thanks, the deep was moved to the top in the spring to move the brood up to the queen excluder as suggested by wally Shaw, I will probably reverse this soon. I am with you on not being greedy. When I started bee keeping I was told you left the bees with enough for the winter and only took the surplus. It seems now though that people are keen to take as much as possible and then feed with sugar. Maybe when honey is around £5 lb and sugar 50p lb they see that as economic sense!

 

[Poly Hive]

maninthecwm?

Now ? LOL

If honey is worth £4-50 per lb and stores to replace said pound costs £1 (for the sake of argument) and if the pollen density of the honey may tend to the detriment of the bees wintering.... is it really better to leave the honey?

PH

 

[Chris Luck]

Yes.

Chris

 

[Vergilius]

maninthecwm?

Now ? LOL

If honey is worth £4-50 per lb and stores to replace said pound costs £1 (for the sake of argument) and if the pollen density of the honey may tend to the detriment of the bees wintering.... is it really better to leave the honey?

PH

LOL... Ever the businessman PH!!!


Ben P