Two questions!!

[steve56616]

Anyone else finding a honey crop this year not happening?
Spring crop this year didn't happen at all. Had to start feeding a few smaller colonies last week as starvation was taking place. Now all bramble is out I have stopped feeding but have a feeling I won't be getting any even from the larger hives.

Second question:

Why do I always have to swap brood boxes around as after a while the bottom box is always empty and top full? Why don't queens go down to fill space after brood has all emerged?

 

[Eyeman]

Honey crop will depend on sterngth of colonies, climate and forage ours was above average this spring. Hives did get light during late May/Early June when weather was bad but only need to feed nucs. During the June (gap) the bramble, privet and Lime are all producing so expect above average crop. Most hives have sorted themselves out with re-queening from A/S or supercedure or with introduced queens and have been topped up with brood from support nucs so should be strong enough for this June flow.

I run double national brood on half my colonies and I try to keep the brood tight against the excluder so little honey gets stored in the brood chambers whilst the queen is in full lay. Mine expand downwards right from the first inspection in April and I don't need to think about swapping brood boxes until later in the season. Depending on your queens fecundity she may not need the space of a double brood or some strains behave differently in how they use the available brood space

 

[For want of a better word]

That is three questions ... so you should get at least a dozen answers!

I run brood +1/2 and super off on top without a qx.... mostly
A bit time consuming but filled super sized frame are moved up and any with brood left in the 1/2.
At the end of the season the 1/2 is moved under the brood box and feeding started which gives the bees the opportunity to rapidly fill the empty brood frames with invert for winter stores ( or last season ivy !!) The 1/2 is moved back above the brood box in the Spring..... then I wonder why I have not been out on my Yacht this year!!

Yeghes da

 

[wightbees]

You should get out on that yacht , sold my boost this year, regretting it: ( will get another next year I feel..
Sorry hi jack in progress

 

[viridens]

Anyone else finding a honey crop this year not happening?
Spring crop this year didn't happen at all. Had to start feeding a few smaller colonies last week as starvation was taking place. Now all bramble is out I have stopped feeding but have a feeling I won't be getting any even from the larger hives.

Yes. Things looked better here earlier in the year, but now worse than just the usual June gap. Almost no stores in 2 strong overwintered colonies, or in other colony from two large April swarms united. In fact I just gave the latter hive some fondant since they have zero stores today.- With bramble almost over and the prospect of reduced HB due to the dry spring, I am concerned.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Now all bramble is out I have stopped feeding but have a feeling I won't be getting any even from the larger hives.

Been feeding here as well, lots of bramble here and the majority of it still tightly in bud, Lime trees look like they should start to flower in the next week, miles of white clover in flower in the valleys but yet to appear out over the hills and the first bell heather just starting to flower.
About another month and the sweet chestnut trees will also start to flower.

 

[philipm]

really strange year Hawthorn only just finished and I noticed yesterday that the rosebay willow herb is starting to flower.Hopefully there will be something left come autumn.

 

[madasafish]

To add to the confusion:
Last year was pants for honey. After the hawthorn finished 4th June, it rained and rained. The lime flowered and it rained. I was lucky to see 60 odd pounds honey.

This year I prepped hives to start early (pollen sub feeding), and have at least 3 full supers (75 pounds plus) and survived the early June drought, no swarms , and now they are bringing in nectar like the world will end tomorrow. The local lime is not yet in flower.

So I may have to extract - say 6 supers to give space for lime IF the weather holds.

I planned on 180 pounds honey - it could easily be 300 or 60 depending on the weather.

Micro climates rule.

 

[whizzwheels]

I've taken 38lbs off two hives at the end of May and left a few uncapped frames in each hive to get them through June especially as this is the first bit of decent weather I've had since the honey was taken off.
Brood area has plenty of stores but they don't seem to have touched the honey supers except to clean and repair them.
One of the hives was attempting to swarm so have split and both hives are doing well so doesn't look like a bad year for honey, not sure if it will be as good as last year as managed 100lbs off one hive.

 

[steve56616]

Yes I agree, was three questions although second one is to do with the same question ;-)

Seems a mixture of answers and people experiencing quite a difference regarding honey this year. I haven't had any swarm cells at all so I'm grateful for that one. New Flow hive is almost capped so that's exciting, although its taken forever.