Need some direction

[pdmattox]

This pic was taken this morning a 12:50 am est.  Temp was 71 F.  Supers are not full.

[AdmiralD]

Consider opening the top of the hives and providing some ventilation for the bees....

[amymcg]

I agree, you can use some small sticks or rocks under the cover on one end to prop them up.

[Finsky]

That is not mere ventilation question. Hives need more room.

You live in Florida and your summer is long.  2 box for colony is really small, where ever they are.

I suppose that there are near good pastures where hives have got good yield. Thay have brood and alltogehter combs are now full.

The biggest need 2 box on brood. Further more bees need 2 brood boxes.

You should look inside brood area do they have  yet queen cells.

Put empty box between those brood and honey boxes. Lift full frames from brood area to upper box.
.

[TwT]

I agree, one deep is not enough room for brood, bet you have excluders on those hives also right, looks like you might? when I started my bee's everybody told me in the south  I should only use one deep for brood, I quickly found out this wasn't near enough room, all my half have 2 deeps or a deep and medium for brood, I would give them at least a medium more for brood and also adding ventilation will help anytime.... looks like you need both....

[Finsky]

I agree, one deep is not enough room for brood, bet you have excluders on those hives also right, looks like you might? when I started my bee's everybody told me in the south  I should only use one deep for brood,...

I use 3 boxes here in short summer. In winter I prefer 2 deeps.

If colony is 2 boxes, the stock must be something feral ?  In Finland we had 40 years ago hives  to which 2 boxes were enough.

My hives started to make brood  1,5 month ago. Now I should add the fourth box to most of hives.

[pdmattox]

yes there are queen excluders on.  Yes there were some hives that had a queen cell in them.  I purchased these hives at the beginning of May just
the way you see them except I added a super to a couple of hives.
The boxes are 8 frame and I bought 10 frame boxes to change them into.  So should I add another 10 frame deep body when i upgrade?

[Michael Bush]

>The boxes are 8 frame and I bought 10 frame boxes to change them into.

And here I sit cutting all my ten frame equipment down to eight...

[Brian D. Bray]

MB< some people just like to work hard.

Regardless of 8 or 10 frame, I use 8. There are 3 ways to fill a box, bees, brood, and honey.  If the box is jam packed with any one of the three they need more room.

I've said it before and I'll say it again--86 the supers, they may be why the bees aren't working the supers like they should bee.  Consider an excluder the same way you would a wrought iron gate--it's a barrier to cross.

[Michael Bush]

>86 the supers

I believe you meant excluders...

[Brian D. Bray]

Yes--86 the Excluders.  They are the least used item in my inventory and I only have a few for those rare occassions they might be needed such as retaining the queen on a hive with an absconding history.

[Finsky]

In my experience to take 2 frame from 10 frame is too much. Bees make bur and combs are too fat.


When I extract too fat frames, they will be crushed. That is not advantage at all.

[Brian D. Bray]

Well said Finsky,

I have operated that a hive size was meant to have that many frames--no less and no more.  It is a practice that has kept me from experiencing many of the problems I've noted within these forums.