honeybound

[bulldog]

will it be a problem/potential swarm situation if the queen becomes honeybound this time of year ? the girls seem to be backfilling a lot of brood comb, so i added a few more empties  hoping to leave her more space to lay.

[AllenF]

Is she laying much brood?   Just how much open space is left?  What kind of boxes and how many are you running.    If there is no room, they will swarm but in the fall winter she will just about stop laying.  A frame of brood or two will do in the winter.

[tecumseh]

at this time of year at your location I would think highly unlikely.

[BjornBee]

Bulldog,

20% of all swarms in the northeast are fall swarms. This is based on the goldenrod and aster flows. Throw in massive feeding by beekeepers and yes....swarms can be issued. Studies have shown that for places in the northeast, as well as localized areas such as Florida with Brazilian peppers, fall swarming is a byproduct of a fall flow. In areas where no fall flow occurs, you usually do not see fall swarming.

Feeding for winter is a two edged sword. You are trying to feed to have the hive gain weight, but you run the risk of backfilling to the point that the hive has little area for the queen to lay. So you either have not enough fall brood being raised, which results in a dead hive in late winter, or you run the risk of feeding to the point that bees swarm.

My feeding in August and September, is primarily for brood production by stimulating the queen for a 6-8 week period, without waiting for a fall flow which many times in too late or too weak. I want 8 frames of brood, and that is more important than hive weight. I can fix a light hive. I can not help a hive that has too little fall brood or is weak from not raising enough for whatever the reason.

Concentrate on brood. And giving them some extra open comb was a smart move.

[L Daxon]

Bjorn,
So if you are feeding for brood in the fall, are you feeding 1:1 instead of 2:1 syrup?