Newbie

[Stevep]

Hi Guys need some handholding help please.

In no particular order....

I added a super over my brood box about 4 weeks ago. I did not use a QE as I wanted the new super to become an extension of the Brood Box. This initially has worked well, the bees actively filled out the frames and there were some brood. My last inspection (today) it seems this Super is now mostly honey and is 85 to 90% full. I only saw a few eggs on one frame. So what next? Do I add another super on top and use the QE? or Do I put a new super in between this one and the brood box? Do I add the QE? Some advice or suggestions will be most helpful as I am just no0t to sure which direction to go in.

Second, after inspecting the brood box (today) It did not seem to have as many eggs as before. Is this normal? Have they hatched? Should there be more eggs? Again just not sure if I should be concerned by this or not.

Thanks in advance

 

[Davelin]

If there is brood in the super it should not be split from the main brood box. Put a queen excluder over the top and add your second super.

With a healthy laying queen you should see brood in all stages.
The eggs you saw last time will now be larvae, the previous larvae will be pupating and some pupae will have emerged as adults, and new eggs will have been laid.

As long as you see all stages and there is no dramatic drop in laying I wouldn't worry.

PS: You need to be doing weekly inspections to check for queen cells at this time of year. If you don't look for 4 weeks a swarm could be long gone by the time you look in. Hopefully you saw some eggs this time.

 

[Arfermo]

Per Davelin Except that I would put the brood super under the main BB so as to encourage the bees to move any surplus up into a new super above a queen excluder. You could then get some honey crop without it being adulterated by feed syrup; or keep the super for autumn/winter feed providing it does not go too solid.

 

[enrico]

It is easier to have a brood and a half with the shallow box on the bottom. Many reasons, a few....queen cells will tend to be between the two box's, inspect the big brood box first and most of the brood is checked. No real need to check the shallow box. In the winter the shallow box can be removed for cleaning as the bees will be in the top brood box, so......I would change the two over and then add QE and a super on top. Let the bees sort it all out
E

 

[MartinL]

After leaving QE on one of my hives and starving them over winter, I tend not to bother with them now.

It was my strongest colony and an elementary mistake destroyed them.

Have found that I can take the top couple of supers away and have 100% sealed stores without need of a QE but others may have a different story to tell!

 

[Stevep]

Thanks for the feed back.

 

[yeogi75]

I have done finnmans way which is to use brood box as nest, increase nest brood box below so bees extend downwards and honey barrier at the top, then brood boxes on top of that the queen rarely goes past the honey barrier