Encouraging move up...

[DayValleyDahlias]

Is it necessary to encourage the bees to move up into a second brood box?  Will they not do that on their own?

If one takes frames from an 8 frame brood box, and switches them out and into an added brood super, which frames are switched out. ( I saw a fellow do this, he said to take 2 frames from the bottom and place them in the top )..hope my question makes sense.

Sharon in A Town

[Michael Bush]

They will move up when they are ready.  If you see a box chock full of bees and brood and they haven't, you can take a few frames of brood and move them up to the next box to force them to.  But they will do it on their own.

[DrKurtG]

I just did that today. I moved four frames that were chock full from the lower brood up into the upper chamber where there was some honey, but no brood. I hope that wasn't too many frames to move!

I have also come to the realization, as had been stated on this board previously, that wearing gloves just makes the bees angry. With the gloves on, I have a heck of a time putting the frames back into the slot. Last time I wore gloves, I made them so mad that they stung me twice right through the gloves! Today I worked the bees entirely without gloves. Exchanging frames, inspecting, etc, and they were calm.

[Michael Bush]

I wear gloves almost all the time with no issue, but I have nice bees and I don't pinch a lot of bees so there isn't a lot of alarm odor on the gloves.  You have to feel the bees under your fingers.  A little smoke on the gloves doesn't hurt if they have been stung either.