Nectar backfilled in brood frames - best way to deal?

[coatesg]

My bees seem intent on mainly using the brood boxes to fill with nectar rather than filling supers - there's a whole empty drawn super on top of a partly filled one, yet top box of the hive (which previously was nicely empty to lay in) is now mostly full of nectar. I've shuffled a couple of empty frames from edge into the middle to open up the brood area a bit, but can see them quickly filling the whole top box at this rate and running out of laying space.

What's the best way to deal with this and encourage super usage? Would extracting uncapped frames and feeding back be advisable at all here?

 

[Swarm]

Have you done a Demarree? Once brood emerges the cell is quickly backfilled if there's a good flow on. I usually put the top box below the bottom one towards the end of season so they shift it up.

 

[Webby]

I'm interested in this as I too have a lot of brood space being used for honey storage. I run double brood and was told to move honey frames to the lower brood box to encourage moving up into the super.

 

[Roola]

Firstly can you confirm your hive is Q+? A Q- hive is more likely to fill the brood area with stores.

Secondly bees need space to store nectar and ripen it before it is placed into cells as honey... When this has happened with me i've added a further drawn super (preferably a wet recently extracted one as this encourages them up into it). Remember also that bees move nectar around the hive all the time so during the day with a heavy flow they will just put it where they can and move it later. The extra space mentioned above should help with this.

 

[sherwood]

Firstly can you confirm your hive is Q+? A Q- hive is more likely to fill the brood area with stores.

Secondly bees need space to store nectar and ripen it before it is placed into cells as honey... When this has happened with me i've added a further drawn super (preferably a wet recently extracted one as this encourages them up into it). Remember also that bees move nectar around the hive all the time so during the day with a heavy flow they will just put it where they can and move it later. The extra space mentioned above should help with this.

I agree.
If they continue you can always introduce a new brood box above an empty super and place all the nectar filled frames in this replacing the moved frames with foundation. They will then do two things you hope move the nectar down to a super above the brood box and secondly pull some new comb which is always useful.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

by what I can make out - you have a double brood setup,brood in the bottom box, stores in the top box, QX? then two supers.
If that's the case they seem to be happy enough with a single brood setup and are just (naturally) storing the honey above the brood nest for easy access.

 

[coatesg]

Thanks - yes, double brood with QX + 2 supers.

They are OK at the moment, but the colony is just recovering after being Q- for quite a while after a swarm and failed raising of a replacement in May. It is Q+ now from same stock (been in lay a couple of weeks or so) - in past experience they will happily fill a double box with brood, so it's a case of me trying to think ahead having seen how many frames of nectar they have at present...

I'll give them a bit to see where they move it or if they cap it- if not may trying moving the nectar bound frames above the supers and replacing with some drawn frames/foundation.

 

[pargyle]

by what I can make out - you have a double brood setup,brood in the bottom box, stores in the top box, QX? then two supers.
If that's the case they seem to be happy enough with a single brood setup and are just (naturally) storing the honey above the brood nest for easy access.

Yes ... this is the likely reason ... they just have more space than they need at present for brood and are doing what they would normally do. I would have been inclined to have kept them to one brood box until they got to 6 or seven full frames of brood, then put a super on, then added another brood box if the brood box started getting filled with brood and the queen needed the laying space. I think, in your enthusiasm to give them enough room you have given them a bit too much - you have, effectively, what is a new colony ao you may be expecting a bit much from them ...two supers and double brood ?

 

[Roola]

by what I can make out - you have a double brood setup,brood in the bottom box, stores in the top box, QX? then two supers.
If that's the case they seem to be happy enough with a single brood setup and are just (naturally) storing the honey above the brood nest for easy access.

Missed the fact they are already on double brood, in which case I completely agree with the above...

It seems then that the best course of action is to take them down to the one brood box... maipulate some frames around so queen has a nice area to lay in (remove store bound frames leaving some at periphery, place polished cells and existing brood in middle) then leave on the two supers above QE.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

either that or just put the stores bound box below the brood and let them rearrange

 

[Eyeman]

Thanks - yes, double brood with QX + 2 supers.

They are OK at the moment, but the colony is just recovering after being Q- for quite a while after a swarm and failed raising of a replacement in May. It is Q+ now from same stock (been in lay a couple of weeks or so) - in past experience they will happily fill a double box with brood, so it's a case of me trying to think ahead having seen how many frames of nectar they have at present...

I'll give them a bit to see where they move it or if they cap it- if not may trying moving the nectar bound frames above the supers and replacing with some drawn frames/foundation.

Sounds like you wont be having any new brood emerging for another week at least. If no laying queen since May then your population will continue to decline. I would remove the brood box with the stores and manage them on a single brood box.

 

[jeff33]

Sounds like you wont be having any new brood emerging for another week at least. If no laying queen since May then your population will continue to decline. I would remove the brood box with the stores and manage them on a single brood box.

What do you do with uncapped stores though? I have the same problem with on of my hives but it is all uncapped. I guess you can put it on top of a strong colony to process?

 

[Finman]

What do you do with uncapped stores though? I have the same problem with on of my hives but it is all uncapped. I guess you can put it on top of a strong colony to process?

Everything is OK. When nectar comes on, nectar is quite long time open before bees dry up the nectar and store on upper parts of give.

What to do....nothing. Bees do it.

Bees do not cap cells if the cells are not full.

 

[mbc]

Everything is OK. When nectar comes on, nectar is quite long time open before bees dry up the nectar and store on upper parts of give.

What to do....nothing. Bees do it.

Bees do not cap cells if the cells are not full.

Pretty much my take on it too.