Poly Hive
Queen Bee
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2008
- Messages
- 14,097
- Reaction score
- 401
- Location
- Scottish Borders
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 12 and 18 Nucs
This is for guidance only and if you are in ANY doubt at all then this is not for you yet.
If you are unsure how strong your colony is, leave them to it.
If you are unsure whether you know that they are struggling to cover the brood they have this is not for you yet.
The illustrations are a bit crude and Blue Peterish but the message is what counts so...
This first pic shows a colony with patches of brood on two of 11 frames. Blue denotes stores, orange denotes brood. There is nothing that can be done yet.
The next shows a week later with three frames and still nothing that can be done, still too weak yet.
The fact though that they have made progress is encouraging.
Now we see brood on four frames and we can start to assist the colony.
The combs are moved to one side and the amount of bruising is judiciously decided depending on how well covered the combs are. At this point less is better and if in ANY doubt leave alone for another week.
Best results come from placing bruised stores opposite a side of brood. Bees like brood across from brood.
Bruising means pushing the cappings into the stores to allow the bees access, but not pushing the hive tool clean through the comb.
The circle to the left on the outer frame denotes a drawing pin and the black hatching where the stores have been bruised. The pin is moved as the colony progresses so you know where the outer brood was on the last inspection to minimize moving combs to no purpose. You decide which is the constant side that you move the brood too, other wise there is going to be confusion.
The next shows the result a week later: yes still four frames but much larger brood nest.
Again the combs are bruised as per the hatching and again a week later the result is an increase in the brood nest. However this time there is an insertion in the broodnest.
If this is successful and there are now five reasonable frames of brood things can move a bit faster.
By now of course there is hatching brood every day and things are taking off.
It may well be necessary to be more gentle depending on prevailing weather. Just a bruise and turn can achieve a new frame of brood.
The ideal is that the bruising and turning results in not only the workings being successful but the bees go that bit further for you and in this case there is a small patch on the outer side of comb 7 (counting from right to left).
Again more bruising to encourage consumption of stores and laying up.
At this point a whole comb can be bruised and inserted, and truth be told in a strong hive when they are on 7-8 frames of well covered brood two can be profitably put in.
Please remember this refers to a thriving colony and if it fails to respond then leave them to it until they are stronger as you can seriously damage their prospects by getting it wrong.
I cannot stress this warning strongly enough, and I was in my 4th season before I felt confident enough to begin.
Be gentle and be sure they have the bees to cope. If in doubt leave alone for a week.
This works pretty much equally well in timber and poly and I practiced it in the rather harsher climate of Aberdeenshire which is some 600 miles north of the Channel coast.
It is a system that works with the bees and is successful on two fronts, one is expanding the brood nest and potentially bringing the swarming point closer which may be to your management advantage, and the 2nd is getting the bees to consume the stores from winter feeding.
The whole exercise is done without supers, that is on a single brood box with nothing else involved. I have no experience in trying it with double broods or one and a half systems so please do not ask as I do not know.
If there are nay sayers and no doubt there will be then you are entitled to your opinion.
I am happy to assist those who are positive.
PH
If you are unsure how strong your colony is, leave them to it.
If you are unsure whether you know that they are struggling to cover the brood they have this is not for you yet.
The illustrations are a bit crude and Blue Peterish but the message is what counts so...
This first pic shows a colony with patches of brood on two of 11 frames. Blue denotes stores, orange denotes brood. There is nothing that can be done yet.
The next shows a week later with three frames and still nothing that can be done, still too weak yet.
The fact though that they have made progress is encouraging.
Now we see brood on four frames and we can start to assist the colony.
The combs are moved to one side and the amount of bruising is judiciously decided depending on how well covered the combs are. At this point less is better and if in ANY doubt leave alone for another week.
Best results come from placing bruised stores opposite a side of brood. Bees like brood across from brood.
Bruising means pushing the cappings into the stores to allow the bees access, but not pushing the hive tool clean through the comb.
The circle to the left on the outer frame denotes a drawing pin and the black hatching where the stores have been bruised. The pin is moved as the colony progresses so you know where the outer brood was on the last inspection to minimize moving combs to no purpose. You decide which is the constant side that you move the brood too, other wise there is going to be confusion.
The next shows the result a week later: yes still four frames but much larger brood nest.
Again the combs are bruised as per the hatching and again a week later the result is an increase in the brood nest. However this time there is an insertion in the broodnest.
If this is successful and there are now five reasonable frames of brood things can move a bit faster.
By now of course there is hatching brood every day and things are taking off.
It may well be necessary to be more gentle depending on prevailing weather. Just a bruise and turn can achieve a new frame of brood.
The ideal is that the bruising and turning results in not only the workings being successful but the bees go that bit further for you and in this case there is a small patch on the outer side of comb 7 (counting from right to left).
Again more bruising to encourage consumption of stores and laying up.
At this point a whole comb can be bruised and inserted, and truth be told in a strong hive when they are on 7-8 frames of well covered brood two can be profitably put in.
Please remember this refers to a thriving colony and if it fails to respond then leave them to it until they are stronger as you can seriously damage their prospects by getting it wrong.
I cannot stress this warning strongly enough, and I was in my 4th season before I felt confident enough to begin.
Be gentle and be sure they have the bees to cope. If in doubt leave alone for a week.
This works pretty much equally well in timber and poly and I practiced it in the rather harsher climate of Aberdeenshire which is some 600 miles north of the Channel coast.
It is a system that works with the bees and is successful on two fronts, one is expanding the brood nest and potentially bringing the swarming point closer which may be to your management advantage, and the 2nd is getting the bees to consume the stores from winter feeding.
The whole exercise is done without supers, that is on a single brood box with nothing else involved. I have no experience in trying it with double broods or one and a half systems so please do not ask as I do not know.
If there are nay sayers and no doubt there will be then you are entitled to your opinion.
I am happy to assist those who are positive.
PH
