The Queen

[leechmann]

Just wondering if after the Queen moves  up into the second deep, does she ever move back down to the lower one on her own? Would there ever be an instance where you would flip flop the the deeps?

Thank You

[Kathyp]

she will generally start somewhere near the middle of the top box.  maybe a 1/4 to 1/3 down a frame.  sometimes all the way to the top of a frame, but that's just until honey is stored.  as the bees build more room for her, they build downward.  if she needs more room, she'll move down.  the brood nest still stays more or less in the center even if it extends to two boxes.

because the bees build down and her brood nest will be roughly football shaped in the middle no matter how many boxes you use, it makes more sense to put your new brood box under your old one and NOT to swap boxes.  

i won't say never.  i'm sure there are people here who have found occasion to do it for a good reason.  most people do it just because someone told them to.  

over the course of the season, bees will store honey above and around the brood.  as winter goes by, they will move farther up for access to the honey.  if you overwinter with two deeps, by late winter you'll find that most of your bees are clustered in the top box.

[sarafina]

** deleted post**

posted on the wrong thread ......  it sucks getting old!    :bee:

[Michael Bush]

She usuall expands up in the early spring, and then get's pushed back down by the honey overhead toward the end of the year... "but you never can tell with bees..."

[leechmann]

Thank You folks