Nadir Double Brood?

[SteveG]

Morning, with all supers off, Apivar on. Inspected the double brood, top box all but end 2 frames full of brood, Lower box very small amount of brood and stores. will feed today, do I nadir??
thanks.

 

[Erichalfbee]

No need.

 

[Patrick1]

I would reverse the boxes to encourage stores in the top box during feeding, the downside would be a loss of heat for the brood area but while the temperatures are reasonably good it should not be a problem

 

[Erichalfbee]

Patrick’s undoubtedly right at least you could fill the top box with food…. Or the bees could
Mine are still piling in balsam.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

they will put any stores in the top anyway with the brood area moving downwards as they store

 

[enrico]

I agree, pointless moving the boxes!

 

[Levitt53]

If they've been in that configuration for a while then leave them be. They know what they are doing better than we do.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I’m all for the less work the better. I quite like the idea of leaving them alone now till end March/ April.
By then I’ve got itchy fingers though

 

[Curly green finger's]

I would reverse the boxes to encourage stores in the top box during feeding, the downside would be a loss of heat for the brood area but while the temperatures are reasonably good it should not be a problem

It would encourage and speed things along, even more so if they have some good forage to look at.

 

[enrico]

It would encourage and speed things along, even more so if they have some good forage to look at.

If that is the case then stick a super on top with a qe. If you mess around with the brood boxes it won't help!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It would encourage and speed things along, even more so if they have some good forage to look at.

how do you work that out then?

 

[Anduril]

The double brood I run, by the end of the honey season, the bottom brood box is full of stores and the top brood box is full of brood. That is how I leave it for the winter. I leave them to forage on the balsam and ivy and I certainly don't feed them.

 

[Boston Bees]

The double brood I run, by the end of the honey season, the bottom brood box is full of stores and the top brood box is full of brood. That is how I leave it for the winter. I leave them to forage on the balsam and ivy and I certainly don't feed them.

Your bees deliberately put their stores below the brood nest?

 

[Patrick1]

they will put any stores in the top anyway with the brood area moving downwards as they store

I Hate to contradict any advice as its all valuable,

I use double langs every year, when the top box is fill of brood because that is the warmest place I move it below and feed heavily. My bees will store in the top box, over the winter the brood will move across the bottom box hit the wall and move upstairs to the warmer part of the hive with stores.

Bees in numbers in the bottom box will also help repel intruders.

I don’t know of any hive that would prefer stores below them, a happy hive is one with stores above them.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I don’t know of any hive that would prefer stores below them, a happy hive is one with stores above them.

Which is what I said

 

[Sutty]

If the supers have only recently been removed then the bees HAD a brood nest with stores above (and a small amount all around the brood nest), that seems normal to me. Now they have had the stores above "amputated". I'd reverse the boxes then feed, so the great bulk of the brood nest has a decent amount of space just above to store in (only small amount of brood in bottom box currently), otherwise the brood nest will get spread out as they move down as capped brood emerges.

 

[Anduril]

Your bees deliberately put their stores below the brood nest?

Yes and by October the brood nest is in the bottom brood chamber

 

[SteveG]

Thanks all. Think I’ll go with moving the brood to bottom and feed well before the Ivy. The reason being the top box is seriously full of brood and almost empty bottom box. Thanks again

 

[enrico]

I think we need some simple facts here. In summer a hive with no QE the bees will store food at the top and the brood will be below the stores. As the stores increase the brood moves downwards. In winter as the brood diminishes the food will be eaten from the bottom upwards. As the winter progresses the bees move upwards using less and less stores as they get to the warmer part of the hive. This is the reason a single brood box should be ample for winter. However we disturb this natural rythm when we add a queen excluder as the brood cannot always be below the food for that reason food often gets stored around the brood too. When we move the excluders in the autumn the bees start to rearrange their hives to a normal system, food at the top, any brood immediately below it. At this point any nadired supers can usually be removed. For bees to put their food under the brood is not normal. Hence the reason they move it if you start moving boxes around.

 

[Amari]

Patrick’s undoubtedly right at least you could fill the top box with food…. Or the bees could
Mine are still piling in balsam.

No balsam in my/ SteveG's territory. Do you take it off, if so what sort of honey is it?