BEES - Brood & a half?

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BEES - Brood & a half?

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Grenwich

Joined: 20 Jan 2008
Posts: 151
Location: Leicestershire

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 08 3:59 pm Post subject: BEES - Brood & a half?
I recently heard about settling bees down for winter on a brood and a half, i.e., putting a super underneath the brood box. Is the super for stores or extra space for brood and bees come spring to avoid and early swarm? and should I put a queen excluder between and should the super frames be on wide or narrow spacers? Any beekeepers heard about this please? g.

joanne

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7100
Location: Morecambe, Lancashire

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 08 4:26 pm Post subject:

I kept my bee's on a brood and a half over the winter last year - Its for stores over winter - you put it underneath the brood chamber so the bee's can easily find it and are less likely to get chilled when breaking from the cluster for food - Don't put a Queen excluder on it and I don't think it matters what width the spacers are - ideally the super should have honey in it or you need to feed them lots of syrup for them to fill it up with PDQ

The only problem is in Spring you have to watch them as if they build up too quickly the Queen might start laying in there so you need to take it off

Grenwich

Joined: 20 Jan 2008
Posts: 151
Location: Leicestershire

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 08 4:31 pm Post subject:
I just KNEW you'd know Jocorless. They're still taking syrup and I've left their supers on the top anyway as I wanted them to have loads of stores for winter. So all I need to do really is just swap supers to the bottom and keep feeding? How early would I need to check on them in the Spring do you think? They swarmed twice last year when I wasn't watching. Thanks. G.

joanne

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7100
Location: Morecambe, Lancashire

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 08 4:36 pm Post subject:

Yep just swap the supers to the bottom - and heft the whole lot so you know how heavy it feels - you can then lift it without opening them up so you can tell how much stores they have left

As for the swarming bit - I think its down to luck and experience - even the old-timers get caught out - I just make sure I check 'em once every 10 days and look for queen cells - I was lucky this year I caught mine just a day before they would have been off!

joanne

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7100
Location: Morecambe, Lancashire

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 08 4:37 pm Post subject:
Thing to do is pick a nice warm spring day in late march and have a quick look - even if you don't open the brood box but just move it off the supers and look at them

Grenwich

Joined: 20 Jan 2008
Posts: 151
Location: Leicestershire

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 08 4:46 pm Post subject:
OK, I'll put a note to myself in my seed box. I can't heft the hives because they're WBC's. I know, I know, but they look soooooo nice at the bottom of the garden. I've got 2 WBC's and 2 nationals, my thinking being that with having four I can play around with them, but so far I've only got the two colonies. Lets all hope for a better bee keeping year next year.

joanne

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7100
Location: Morecambe, Lancashire

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 08 5:00 pm Post subject:
You've got one more colony than I have - I had an awful time with my second colony this year and ended up reuniting it - does mean they can over winter on double brood which is the best option for them cos it means there will be plenty of space to expand come spring - I hope its going to be a better year next year - we certainly need it!

Grenwich

Joined: 20 Jan 2008
Posts: 151
Location: Leicestershire

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 08 5:05 pm Post subject:
I don't think it's just us though. I heard that experienced keepers with several hives lost about half of their colonies and honey production is way down. It doesn't help that our neighbouring farmer will insist on spraying at mid day. Grrrrr. g.

joanne

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7100
Location: Morecambe, Lancashire

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 08 5:09 pm Post subject:

Grenwich wrote:

I don't think it's just us though. I heard that experienced keepers with several hives lost about half of their colonies and honey production is way down. It doesn't help that our neighbouring farmer will insist on spraying at mid day. Grrrrr. g.

They are not supposed to do that without telling you the night before so you can shut them in for the day - we have spray liaison officers in our club

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Thu Oct 09, 08 6:54 pm Post subject:
I agree with everything jocorless says & if you find the queen has started laying in the super in March you will have a nice early crop of drones to destroy with their attendant mites (Assuming your supers are fitted with drone foundation). If fitted with worker foundation move the super over an excluder after brushing the bees off & the workers will soon come up to attend to any brood.

Grenwich

Joined: 20 Jan 2008
Posts: 151
Location: Leicestershire

Posted: Fri Oct 10, 08 3:37 am Post subject:
Thanks Jocorless, that's handy to know. I shall try to find out more about that in our area. Tavascarow - should I put drone foundation over the whole super or a mix of drone and brood? Thanks, g.

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Fri Oct 10, 08 6:39 am Post subject:
I would use whatever you've got. Chances are the queen wont lay in it. Good idea to keep an outside frame in your brood box for drone trapping though either fitted with drone foundation or a starter strip.

Grenwich

Joined: 20 Jan 2008
Posts: 151
Location: Leicestershire

Posted: Fri Oct 10, 08 9:09 am Post subject:
Thanks for the info guys. If the weather's OK I'll sort them today. g.

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