When to go brood and a half...or more...

[susbees]

The strongest of our commercial colonies (the one I supered on first inspection last week as there was a neat ball of stores in the middle of the brood nest is now up to nine frames of brood with some polished cells free and two frames of stores and is slowly drawing the super (cold again this week) over a QE.

So...the question is this (might sound daft but we're happy with all our brood in single box especially as weights are not my thing atm) at what point do we give the brood nest more space:

1. take out the QE and let them choose what to do with this box then add a super again later on?
2. add another super above a QE and let them brood the bottom one?
3. add another commercial brood box underneath?
4. other

Thanks people and hope to meet at least one member of this forum in the next couple of days

 

[the naked beekeeper]

Funnily enough I was going to ask the exact same thing, except that I am on Nationals until I can gradually change to 14x12.

For me, the B.S. is just too small a box on its own to produce any decent honey crop. I would much rather work with the bees needs and provide brooding space if they need it, rather than keep them in one for my own stubborn benefit and possibly illicit swarming...so at what point does one make a brood into a brood and a half????

(Sorry to hijack your thread, but I'm asking the same question!!)

 

[tonybloke]

commercial brood should be plenty big enough for most bees. have you bruised the stores in the brood box?

 

[johna]

Commercial is equivalent to National 1 1/2.in a single box.Just add super over the Q excluder if they are expanding rapidly.

 

[roymichaeldean]

Advice

Hi

I follow Tim Rowes advice..........vis a vis book ' Challenging Conventional Beekeeping '...keep adding brood boxes........see his Presentation on his website *****************...until end May or June.........more bees must equal more honey........so 1 brood box..is insuficient.....and is inevitable going to lead to swarming......in my honest opinion.........maximise bees...= maximum honey

roy

 

[oliver90owner]

maximise bees...= maximum honey


That is nobody's advice in particular. All decent tomes on beekeeping since way back will have that advice. It should, of course, say 'foraging ' bees; there is a subtle difference.

RAB

 

[enrico]

This may sound obvious but some new beekeeps don't realise it, A commercial hive should be big enough, it is like the forth bridge, the queen is laying one end while the bees are hatching at the other so she is laying in cells that are becoming vacant. There is always an initial bust of new bees in spring and then things begin to level out. Don't be too keen to add more laying space when it is not necessary, the room is required by adding supers as necessary not new brood box's. That's my humble opinion anyway!!!

 

[sahtlinurk]

i am on nationals and i am giving my strongest ones a super to play with. Later just get the QE under it and let the bees hatch.

Lauri

 

[oliver90owner]

sahtlinurk,

Later just get the QE under it and let the bees hatch.

Good move Lauri. They may need a second, if prolific. Some of mine need extra space over a 14 x 12.

Regards, RAB

 

[susbees]

Thanks everyone. Once this apiary is more uniform in bee type I fully expect them to fit in the commercials, single box. I guess it was the fast build up I was thrown by in this atypical Spring (for once better suited to Italians ).

 

[sahtlinurk]

my spring program - first super on without QE, when full of brood QE underneath and on top of second empty super. brood hatches, replaced with honey. my idea is that the Queen has then always some room to lay. has worked so far.

Lauri

 

[BILL.HEARD]

Hi,
Used to keep several hundred hives on commercial most of the time with eleven frames and a board. Hated brood in supers, never liked that idea, but plenty of early super room for the bees which takes some of the pressure off the brood nest.

 

[DanBee]

We run Commercials and large productive colonies. Generally on double brood, some on triple. Do not consider brood-and-a-half, you will regret it the moment you want to reorganise brood, stores and space between 'brood' boxes of differing sizes. Whatever the question, brood-and-a-half is never the answer

Add a brood box over the occupied one. Move up 2 frames of open brood to encourage them into the upper box, place the extra space at the edge of the lower brood nest.

The argument that a single commercial brood is sufficient for bees is not based upon experience. Our good ones run up to 24 frames of brood at times, and that's just selectively bred local mongrels not some super-strain. Simple sums suggest populations of 80,000 +

As to single-depth boxes, we've tried that too. Works a treat but Commercials are dangerously heavy (80lb honey + woodwork) so you need to approach with strength & caution. Works best without queen excluders