- Joined
- Mar 30, 2011
- Messages
- 36,919
- Reaction score
- 17,115
- Location
- Glanaman,Carmarthenshire,Wales
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- Too many - but not nearly enough
I wouldn't but if you really think they need the space Nadir the new box so they have room to expand downwards - I find it seldom works as they tend to ignore it and swarm early.On this theme would you ever consider giving them more space, along with food, early?
Double decker nuc, spare extension available, rapidly growing colony from good starting point? Probably counterproductive in terms of temperature maintenance, not warm enough to draw comb etc... but just a thought!
what you also find at this time of year is expansion is relative, the brood nest may expand but not the population as, as soon as the new bees start to emerge the winter bees finally burn out and start dying in earnest, so you have this initial surge in brooding, a slight population increase and then it plateaus for a while.
This is also the time of year when people, who only a while ago were celebrating that their colonies had survived to the spring suddenly discover deadouts when the winter bees struggle to revert to nurse bee duties and suddenly start dying off before the queen picks up her laying rate, and also fail to maintain any brood she produces, thus we witness a classic winter dwindle (not some sudden catastrophic murrain.)