Preparing for winter

[Grace Johnson]

Hi
This is my first season as a beekeeper!
I started my hive about 2 months ago but about 3 weeks in I'd lost my queen. There were queen cells made so I kept one and destroyed the others.
I've kept the hive closed for about 2-3 weeks now to let them get on with it and let her hatch and do her thing. I went in today for my first inspection and found I've got nearly 6 full frames of capped honey in my super. I was very happy but I didn't get to my brood. I panicked because I think last time I went into the brood I may have damaged her which is why they had to replace her. And they started getting aggressive plus my smoker had ran out so I closed the hive so i haven't seen my new queen yet.
(Rookie mistake I know now I should have done my brood first and then the super, lesson learned)

Looking down in the brood box I could see that only one frame hadn't been build out. I'm going back on Friday with my mentor to help me do a full inspection.

My question is how many frames would I need to leave the hive with over winter and do I put the brood above the super over the winter? I have a WBC so I was wondering if it would me more insulated than a national and if I would need to do the swap

 

[Garry R]

Hi
This is my first season as a beekeeper!
I started my hive about 2 months ago but about 3 weeks in I'd lost my queen. There were queen cells made so I kept one and destroyed the others.
I've kept the hive closed for about 2-3 weeks now to let them get on with it and let her hatch and do her thing. I went in today for my first inspection and found I've got nearly 6 full frames of capped honey in my super. I was very happy but I didn't get to my brood. I panicked because I think last time I went into the brood I may have damaged her which is why they had to replace her. And they started getting aggressive plus my smoker had ran out so I closed the hive so i haven't seen my new queen yet.
(Rookie mistake I know now I should have done my brood first and then the super, lesson learned)

Looking down in the brood box I could see that only one frame hadn't been build out. I'm going back on Friday with my mentor to help me do a full inspection.

My question is how many frames would I need to leave the hive with over winter and do I put the brood above the super over the winter? I have a WBC so I was wondering if it would me more insulated than a national and if I would need to do the swap

Season 1 I think you have done really well if you have a super of honey. Nectar flow will be declining now but you seem to have a young newly mated queen which is laying well and will be providing you with the long living winter bees. Don't risk taking the honey off and then feeding ,possibly start an attack of robbing wasps. Be patient - there will be plenty of time for honey next year although I understand he excitement of your first harvest.

 

[Grace Johnson]

Season 1 I think you have done really well if you have a super of honey. Nectar flow will be declining now but you seem to have a young newly mated queen which is laying well and will be providing you with the long living winter bees. Don't risk taking the honey off and then feeding ,possibly start an attack of robbing wasps. Be patient - there will be plenty of time for honey next year although I understand he excitement of your first harvest.

I don't want to harvest this year, I want to leave it all for them to get through winter. I've got plenty of time in the future to harvest if I get that lucky next year.

What I'm unsure of is if I leave the supers full and ontop of the brood or do I leave them full and move under the brood? I want them to have food and be able to move about to get it but unsure how much I'm meant to leave them with

 

[Erichalfbee]

Take out the excluder and leave the super on top. Yes, the queen may start laying up there in the spring but you simply find her and put or chase her into the brood box and replace the excluder. There is no point putting the super under just now. All the bees will do is start moving the honey up into the brood box, leaving the super empty.

40lb is a rough figure which is 8 frames. There is enough room in a National brood box but as you've only just started it's probably not the time to be manipulating the food into there so you might as well leave them the super.

 

[ericbeaumont]

I'd lost my queen. There were queen cells made so I kept one

Likely the colony swarmed; correct decision to reduce to one QC.

last time I went into the brood I may have damaged her which is why they had to replace her

How many QCs did you find?

started getting aggressive plus my smoker had ran out

What time of day did you inspect? Bees respond to stimuli - lack of a queen, weather, lack of forage, beekeeper perfume, genetic disposition - with varying degrees of defensiveness, not aggression.

What fuel do you use in the smoker?

only one frame hadn't been build

Take the frame and put it in the middle of the nest. When you check 7 days later it will be drawn.

how many frames would I need to leave the hive with over winter

Weight, not frames: 20kg/40lbs. Each full SN comb will hold about 1kg; a full DN comb will hold about 2kg. Tot them roughly as you go through; it's an estimate, not a science.

Depending on the flow in you area (add location to your info) you may not need to feed, because ivy is a late source that can bring bulk.

move under the brood

If you do, don't do it yet. Dani's option is as valid. If you decide to nadir, reduce entrances to one or two beespaces, and don't do it if the colony is not queenright (BB may be full of honey) and wasps are plentiful. If the colony is Q- and wasps are about, they will demolish it.

unsure how much I'm meant to leave them

Buy this book: https://www.books4people.co.uk/products/haynes-bee-manual

WBC ... if it would me more insulated than a national and if I would need to do the swap

WBC has better thermal efficiency compared to a wood National, but likely not as good as a National poly, but that is not relevant when deciding to nadir a super.

Nadiring will give the colony the opportunity to shift stores up around the BB nest and below the CB, which I hope is sealed and insulated with a minimum of 50mm of PIR.

PS: never waste time looking for a queen; look only for eggs, and BIAS to confirm colony stability.