management planning

[asciibaron]

i went into the hive today and wrote down what things looked on each side of each frame.  here's the rundown for the 2 deep box hive that was installed from a package the first weekend of April and swarmed 6 weeks later.

top box;
frame 1 - empty - no comb
frame 2 - frame 1 side empty, frame 3 side spots of comb with honey in it
frame 3 - both sides have honey - mostly uncapped
frame 4 - frame 3 side has capped honey, frame 5 side has brood
frame 5 - various stages of brood on both sides
frame 6-  frame 5 side has honey, pollen, and brood, frame 7 side is capped honey
frame 7 - frame 6 side uncapped honey, frame 8 side starting to draw comb
frame 8 - empty - no comb
frame 9 - empty - no comb
frame 10 - empty - no comb

bottom box;
frame 1 - box side is empty - no comb, frame 2 side has capped honey
frame 2 - honey on frame 1 side, honey and pollen on the other
frame 3 - start of comb with honey in it on both sides
frame 4 - frame 3 side has brood, frame 5 side has comb and pollen
frame 5 - mostly empty comb with some pollen on both sides
frame 6 - pollen and honey on both sides
frame 7 - frame 6 side starting to draw out comb, frame 8 side has honey and pollen
frame 8 - honey and pollen on both sides
frame 9 - honey and pollen on frame 8 side, frame 10 side empty
frame 10 - empty - no comb

i'm looking for some suggestions on managing this hive - i had to miss 2 weeks at the most critical time and the colony swarmed.  i had added the top deep box with the full 10 frames 2 weeks before i left, but they could not draw out the comb fast enough - the incoming nectar and brood consumed the limited space very quickly.

there is a new queen raised by the hive and she is rearing new brood, but there is a decided gap in the generation and the colony is down in numbers as a result.  i want to make sure i keep them going strong into winter and i see my actions over the next 2 weeks as being critical to their survival.  with 4 completely empty frames up top i don't think they will swarm again, but once this new queen gets the empty brood comb filled, it will start getting tight again.

i wonder if i should move frame 6 from the bottom box and swap it with frame 5 from the top box and swap frame 3 in the bottom box for frame 4 in the top box.  this gets the brood together and the frames mostly full of honey and pollen together.  the frames with brood have the band of pollen and capped honey in the corners.

i was also thinking that i should swap frames 9 and 10 in the bottom box to get them to draw out comb on frame 10.

any suggestions are most welcome.

-Steve

[indypartridge]

i wonder if i should move frame 6 from the bottom box and swap it with frame 5 from the top box and swap frame 3 in the bottom box for frame 4 in the top box.  this gets the brood together and the frames mostly full of honey and pollen together.

I'd leave them as is. Let the bees decide where they want their food stores in relation to brood.

i was also thinking that i should swap frames 9 and 10 in the bottom box to get them to draw out comb on frame 10.

Yes, I'd do that. Swap 1 & 2 of the bottom box as well.

[asciibaron]

should i add a medium super?

-Steve