So the bees will cluster into a tight group to stay warm for the winter, I understand that ( first year beek here). But should I take a frame or 2 out of the center of the hive so that everybody can fit? I a guessing that the shape of their cluster should be as round and thick as possible, not flattened out and separated across several frames.
The center of the cluster needs to be on stores to eat and refuel before their turn on the outside. Removing frames will just split the cluster or separate them from the stores, not a good idea at all.
i was curious about how can they ALL fit into such a small cluster but then i read somewhere that bees crawl up the cells so...there's enough room for everyone.
If you leave the hive alone they will arrange things the way they want them for winter. That will be some empty comb in the center of the cluster, open honey around the edge and capped honey elsewhere. Probably some pollen on the edges and below where the honey is.
Empty space is not a good thing in the cluster in the winter.