OSR + Ivy Combo

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mignon

New Bee
Joined
Jun 6, 2010
Messages
31
Reaction score
0
Location
Shropshire
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
4
I have one colony on a brood and a half in a national hive and the Bees are at the busiest they have been all year bringing in masses of pollen and nectar from ivy, OSR and sunflowers (both of which have been planted as game crops) I haven't looked in the hive for about a 10 days but they are on their last few days of varroa treatment so intend to make an inspection soon. The last time I looked the brood box had plenty of brood and stores but the half brood was fairly empty so I was going to give them an autumn feed after the varroa treatment. However, given the abundance of forage I am afraid they will stock up on OSR and Ivy which doesn't seem like a good combination to over winter on. If, when I inspect the hive I find they have filled all available space what do I do? Because presumably it is not a good idea to put a super on this time of year to store the surplus and I can't really give them syrup as a "mixer" so the OSR and Ivy doesn't set too hard because space is still an issue. Any ideas and suggestions will be gratefully received.
 
Do you have a flow from Spring sown OSR ?
What county are you in ?
 
Yes I know how crazy it all sounds...but I'm in the UK, Shropshire to be precise. The OSR was sown about 2 months ago and is in flower now. It is about 3 acres bordering a wood used as game cover. There is another patch sown just over a month ago so weather permitting that will be in flower sometime in October I suppose. Ironically there was no OSR near enough for the Bees in spring so they are making the most of it now!
 
I'm a newbee too - but would removing a few frames and storing them help? Then you could replace the frames and feed syrup for them to store? Someone with more experience might know if this will work as it is just a guess??!
 
Thanks Queens that does sound like a plan, I am quite intrigued to have a peak in the hive to see just how quickly they are filling the empty comb. I will certainly have some spare frames to hand if a swap is necessary. This is the brilliance of this forum, fresh minds to any dilemma will always come up with new ideas. ;)
 

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