How to get things ready for winter

[S&P bees]

We would appreciate some advice as we are complete beginners. We started off with a swarm of bees in May. They have seemed to be doing well in that there are lots and lots of bees and brood. On the advice of our beekeeping friend we have been feeding them and not taken any honey with the hope they will get strong for the winter. We were told they need the whole brood box full up to be ready for winter. We put a super on top of the brood box a while ago to give them space and they have started filling those frames with honey even though there are still a couple of empty frames "downstairs". We put extra frames in the other day because there were loads of bees gathered around the front of the hive and we started to panic they were limbering up for a late swarm. I now think this was just a wasp-guard induced traffic jam. Who knows? Not us that's for sure. I'm wondering if we should leave the super on over winter with the honey in it, or if that will make the bees too spread out and cold. Or if we should take out the empty brood box frames and put the shallow frames in there. Also, We are thinking we should stop feeding now and maybe put some fondant in during the winter. is that right? Any thoughts very welcome.
S&P

 

[Kenson]

Well, I'm as much a beginner as you

But about bees "gathering" around the front of the hive (Mrs G. describes it as swarming!!! ).

I am lucky enough to have seen a lot of my bees lately, regularly there is "a could" in front of the hive, this happens 2 or 3 times a day with my bees (that I know of), I have a chair in front (off centre) of the hive and the cat, children and I regularly sit/lie/stand in this "cloud". I am fairly sure it is just the younger bees "having a flight" (cleansing flights if you like). They just come out, fly around for a bit, often in a sort of circle around the hive. Is this what you saw?

Your super:

I understand that if you give them space above, they will use that as a preference.

You could put that super underneath the brood box (Nadir is the phrase), then they will use those stores first (they move up through the stores during the winter).

OR

You can leave the super on top (as is) without the QE (Queen Excluder), you must NOT have the QE there if you choose to do that because as the bees move up in the winter they could leave the queen behind.

Outer (empty) frames:

I wouldn't think it would help to change the "Outer" empty frames for Shallows, what they might appreciate is "Dummying down" you will need to cut 2 pieces of wood (9mm ply is fine) to exactly fit your "frame profile" (to hive edges - inside), take out the outside frames and fill the space left with insulation (Wickes/B&Q, most hardware places) sell Cellotex or Kingspan (you probably want a sheet of 25mm), put that outside your cut boards ("Follower Boards" they are called).

This will keep the bees warmer. With the Super "Nadired" they will use the super honey first, then cluster in the brood box, which is now easier for them to heat.

With the excess "Cellotex" you can easily make a "Bee Cosy" box for the coldest months, just needs to fit over the hive.

K

 

[S&P bees]

Thank you! The bees round the front of the hive were not flying but all crawling about on the front and round the sides. In the end we took off the wasp guard on one side. I think there were just too many trying to get in and out at the same time.
I like the idea of putting the super underneath and using the space in the brood box for insulation. I'm guessing we need to do that asap on a fine day to avoid opening thing she up in the cold. Thank you for your help ��

 

[Kenson]

Mostly I'm just saying what others have said

About the "Bearding", dunno. Mine do that, a few at a time, it's only a Nuc so there's often a bit of congestion at their small entrance

I have a few classes of bee:
Experienced: You can watch these fly towards the hive and land inside the hole.
Good: These land in front of the hole (on the little lip) and walk in.
Deviants: These land on the front of the hive near the hole and walk in.
Inexperienced: These approach in a less positive way and clearly struggle to find the hole, but do.
Novices: These come out fly about for a bit and eventually struggle back in.
Dumb Ducks: These fly at top speed towards the hive, hit it, bounce off, land on the floor, crawl around on the grass/nettles/docs for a bit and then work out that they should fly to the hive, and comically struggle in.

Hours of fun watching them

The Cat sits on the chair (2 or 3 feet from the entrance) all day watching them

K

 

[enrico]

The most important thing is to remove the queen excluder
Bees start to use their winter stores from the bottom up so if you have a brood box full of stores there is the chance they won't need the super at the top. If you put the super under the brood box they will use that first. In late winter the queen will lay in the empty cells under the remaining stores. There are plenty of post on here about 'hefting' a hive. They make informative reading!
Best of luck
E

 

[bjosephd]

I'm beginning to discover that beekeeping is essentially just two things...

Preparing for spring...

and once spring is springing...

prepare for winter...!

 

[Swarm]

Yet again a super added for space ... before the bees draw out the comb downstairs, where they need it. You have discovered that the bees ignore outer frames and work on up the middle.
Your swarm in May should have been manipulated so that each frame was usable comb before even thinking about a super. All you did was restrict the nest and laying space because your bees don't know the queen can't follow them into the super.

 

[Swarm]

To sort it for Winter, I'd remove the excluder and leave the super where it is. Sort the brood problem in Spring.

The reason I say this, bees store above, behind and alongside the brood. When you nadir a box, the first thing they do is transfer it to those locations, nadiring is a good way to get partially filled supers emptied. Asking them to uncap stores and move it upstairs (to where there are insufficient combs) is unfair and a waste of their resources.