my bottom two deep supers are VERY full. i added a shallow super over a week ago. they did not move up, but the weather was bad and i didn't worry about it.
now the weather has gone from cold to quite hot, only a handful of bees are in the upper box and no comb is being drawn. in addition, the bees have gotten aggressive. not dangerously so, but certainly much more than two weeks ago.
actions taken: removed queen excluder several days ago. propped up top a bit as weather has gotten quite hot suddenly. checked hive and found it healthy looking but very crowded. observed for robbing over several days. did not see any. did find that swallows are eating some of my bees.
conclusion: leave them alone. see what happens.
also considered the possibility that swallows are keeping the bee population static and so they do not feel the need to expand?
any thoughts would be most welcome! thanks
Hives will become more aggressive as they increase in size. What kind of foundation are you using in the shallow? If it is plastic (permacomb or duraguilt), even if it says "wax coated", give each sheet a coating of melted wax with one of those desposable foam paintbrushes and a double boiler (not one you want to have for food purposes). Also, if it looks like they're preparing to swarm, concider reversing the two deeps.
the foundation is wax. i passed on the plastic, even though many around here seem to like it.
i don't think they are going to swarm. since i don't know much, i could be really wrong about that.
question? if both deeps are full, what is the reason for swapping them?
thanks for the help!
By reversing the deeps, you place honey below the broodnest. The bees suddenly feel the need to move the honey back above the brood and, in moving the honey, they free up alot of comb and, if their congestion is reduced by sudden available comb, they will temporarily lose the urge to swarm.
Past on the Plastic, to get the bees to work it takes a bit of TLC that not everyone (me included) is not willing to provide.
Transposes the hives might work for restilmulating the hive, but if it's necessary at this time of year chances are it will also be necessary in the fall and again in the spring. If so i would requeen next spring.