Honey In Brood Box

[Pommie Bee]

Hi Had a look at overwinted bees last week and found loads of frames of honey in brood box. Any ideas I am thinking queen will have little room to lay? A friend suggested putting a super on and bees will shift the honey. Is this correct? I was thinking of adding a brood box

 

[For want of a better word]

What do you mean by loads of honey?
Did you feed them in winter... in which case the stores are probably syrup?

If q seems to not have enough room.... remove 2 frames of stores*... bruise the others and add 2 frames of undrawn brood comb.

* keep in deepfreezer... will value them later if we get a June Gap!!

Chons da

 

[enrico]

You can do several things. Is there likely to be sugar in these brood frames? If so just move two or three out and replace with empty frames, drawn if possible, and keep the stores to put back in the autumn. If no sugar then remove and use the honey yourself, or add a new brood box underneath the existing one. Try and think what would be the best solution for you. Nothing is set in stone!
Sorry cheers, our posts crossed
E

 

[Finman]

.
Put a second brood box under the recent.
Put there 2-3 foundations too.

When the lower brood box is occupied with bees, and is half full brood, swap the boxes and at same time put the first super on. Hive must gave a new place where bees move the honey. Mostly in spring bees use stores to build up the colony. Super may have some foundations and some ready combs.

To draw foundations needs much honey, and bees can use old winter stores to that job. Foundation drawing prevents swarming fever.

 

[Finman]

What do you mean by loads of honey?
Did you feed them in winter... in which case the stores are probably syrup?

If q seems to not have enough room.... remove 2 frames of stores*... bruise the others and add 2 frames of undrawn brood comb.

* keep in deepfreezer... will value them later if we get a June Gap!!

Chons da

That is the first good job to do, if the box is not full of bees. Englarge the hive later.

.

 

[Eyeman]

.
Put a second brood box under the recent.
Put there 2-3 foundations too.

When the lower brood box is occupied with bees, and is half full brood, swap the boxes and at same time put the first super on. Hive must gave a new place where bees move the honey. Mostly in spring bees use stores to build up the colony. Super may have some foundations and some ready combs.

To draw foundations needs much honey, and bees can use old winter stores to that job. Foundation drawing prevents swarming fever.

My bees need nectar/sugar coming in to draw foundation.
Wish mine would use old overwintered stores- if they did I wouldn’t have to remove so many frames.

 

[Finman]

My bees need nectar/sugar coming in to draw foundation.
.

They draw foundations too with old winter stores. Don't be pedant.
.

One way is to give 3 winter store frames to the artificial swarm, and bees draw foundations with that sugar in a week and fill food combs with brood.
.

 

[bontbee]

I, too, had brood nests full of nectar with very little room for the queen to lay last week. It was because I had been slackly late with my first full inspection and, with the weather we had had, there wasn't enough room for brood and stores.

Having added space for them to move the nectar into, the weather has turned really cold and, for now, they don't need that space anymore!! Still, the forecasters are promising in the next day or two. Fingers crossed.