How big is too big?

[cao]

I was wondering how big is too big of a hive to go into winter with?  Most of what I read about is the minimum number of boxes or the minimum a hive weighs in order for it to make it through winter.  It's my second year keeping bees.  I started with 3 nucs last spring, lost one over winter due to starvation.  The two that survived are now both a single deep and 4 mediums tall with less than a mediums worth of foundation yet to draw out.  All boxes are 10 frame.  I have already harvested 8 gal of honey and made two splits(nucs) from them.  Last year I overwintered them on a deep and 2 mediums.  They both had surplus honey this spring.  I guess my question is should I split them again(I'm wanting to increase the number of my hives) or wait and see how much honey they have this fall and take extra(don't really need any more) or let them go with all those boxes.  I think the flow around here is slowing down some(its taking them longer than 2 weeks to completely draw out and fill a 10 frame medium like they were doing earlier).  I know its starting to get a little late for making splits(time for bees to make a queen, for her to get mated and then start laying). Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated.

Chris

[Michael Bush]

>I was wondering how big is too big of a hive to go into winter with?

One that doesn't have enough food for all of them...

[hjon71]

>I was wondering how big is too big of a hive to go into winter with?

One that doesn't have enough food for all of them...

I generally like and appreciate your short and concise answers. This however is just short. Would you please give some more info and possibly an example?

[Michael Bush]

I don't care how large the cluster is.  I just care that the cluster has the appropriate amount of food to get through the winter.  As far as space, the hive should be made up of frames occupied by bees (usually mostly empty so they can crawl into the cells) and enough capped stores for winter.  Empty boxes should be removed.  Queen excluders should be removed.  It ends up getting rounded off to an even box, but my goal is 1 1/2 frames of capped honey per frame of clustered bees +- 1/2 frame.  In other words between 1 and 2 frames of capped honey for every frame of clustered bees.  Assuming, of course, that the size of the frames is all the same...

[hjon71]

Thank you.

[Joe D]

Last year down here I had a bad spring and early summer for honey.  We normally have two extractions a year.  When it was time for the first, there was some honey in the supers but almost none in the brood chamber.  So I didn't take any.  When it got time for the second extraction, there was some in the supers and just a little in the brood chambers so I left it all for them, deep and medium brood chamber and medium and shallow supers.  This spring when I first inspected the hives, they were full of brood.  I had one that had 18 or 19 frames of brood, the others were slightly less, lots of brood.  So if you think there is to much to leave for your bees, then take some.  I usually feed  1.5 gal. per hive or less per year, including for spring build up.



Joe