How heavy should a healthy full BN brood box be now?

richardbees · Nov 8, 2009

I bought a very scanty 3 frame nuc in early August, housed it in a National brood box. After regularly feeding 24 lbs sugar syrup they've gradually drawn comb on /and occupied 11 frames.

It now weighs (with only a cover board) 65lbs - about right to see them through the winter?

oliver90owner · Nov 8, 2009

What type of floor? Some of them can be quite weighty. Cedar BB or ply?

Who knows.

Frankly, you have little choice in the matter now.

Close them up for winter, keep them warm (and particularly dry) and heft the hive at intervals. If it feels light, feed candy.

24 lbs (whatever pounds are!) would equate to rather more honey than that (nearly an extra 6 of those units) but meantime they may have been converting some into wax, feeding on it, brooding with it. I would think they have been foraging busily so may have collected a good amount themselves.

Remember they will be needing protein (pollen) for brooding in the spring so maybe you should have been watching how much has been stored, at your visits.

They may well be alright on both scores. Just depends on the length and severity of the winter, the topography of your site, your geograpical location and a load of other things too.

BTW, welcome to the forum.

Regards, RAB

m100 · Nov 8, 2009

It sounds a bit light to me, but situations vary depending on your local weather.

Bare weights of a cedar brood box, thornes economy open mesh floor, and 6mm crown board are 5.5kg, 11 national frames (hoffman spaced) with drawn (unfillled) comb are 4kg

In old money that's 21lb so you have 44lb of stores and bees.

Bees are around 5000 per pound and you might have 10000 in a good strong colony at this time of year

so circa 42lb of stores, probably ok but heft them in feb/mar/apr to get a better idea if they are heavy on consumption over winter.

MJBee · Nov 9, 2009

Last year I overwintered a colony as follows:- OMF, 2 x National Brood, Crown board and 150mm Roof. It went into the winter (30 Oct 08) at 44.5Kg/98lbs.
It came through without any problems, so you should be OK as long as the colony was strong and healthy.
Mike

richardbees · Nov 9, 2009

Wow! just for a change = a forum that produces knowledgeable replies!

Thank you for the above. While the colony was building up I did see ample pollen being taken in. (The floor is homemade from 5-ply 2 lb at the most?) so overall I feel confident it should get through the winter.

thank you again!