? about switching box positions

[naturaledge]

I have one overwintered  hive overwintered in three 8 frame mediums and they are going strong. I looked into them today and the top box has 3 or so frames of eggs and open brood and capped brood and a very nice pattern and the rest capped honey I think from last year since spring has just sprung here  but the next box down has 2 frames honey and a frame of pollen the rest pretty empty , and the bottom box has some maybe 2 frames pollen and nectar and the rest empty. Should I switch box positions or frame positions ,the queen is beautiful and active . I have a great pic of her I will try to put up . Thank you for your advice . Brian 

[Keith13]

I usually reverse mine when spring comes on

Keith

[Finski]

I have one overwintered  hive overwintered

in three 8 frame mediums and they are going strong.

the top box has 3 or so frames of eggs and open brood and capped brood

and a very nice pattern and the rest capped honey

I think from last year since spring has just sprung here  but the next box down has 2 frames honey and a frame of pollen the rest pretty empty

, and the bottom box has some maybe 2 frames pollen and nectar and the rest empty. Should I switch box positions or frame positions ,the queen is beautiful and active . I have a great pic of her I will try to put up . Thank you for your advice . Brian 

The hive have just begun the brooding. It is not strong at all.

Brood must in in uppermost box which is warmest.

Put frames in different order,not boxes.

- First in upper box in the middle 3 brood frames+empty comb.
- next pollen frames on boath sides of brood. It is natural place for pollen,
- and them put empty frames, where the cluster may enlarge  

Next box under brood 4 frames capped food frames and the rest empty combs.

Take a third box off.


When the uppermost box is full of brood, 5-6 frames and the queen has layed partly the second box,
then add the third box to lowest and then rewolve the brood boxes. It takes many weeks before you are in that situation.

But follow weekly how the colony grows.

Keep the hive warm. Not much ventilation and keep insulation on inner cover.

[Finski]

I usually reverse mine when spring comes on

Keith

I reverse when I put first honey box over two brood boxes. It is summer then.

[woodchopper]

Sebago, Maine HEH ?? I also have hives about 30 miles from you in York County and use strictly 8 and 10 frame mediums. I'd suggest removing that bottom super and leaving the other two supers as they are. I just had to do this to most of my hives that overwintered. 
It appears the other posters in this thread are all using deeps. Because you are using mediums [different animal] your answers you are looking for will sometimes be different. It's less intrusive to the brood nest if you just leave it alone and temporarily remove that bottom super which you'll put on top of the other two at a later date. 

[Michael Bush]

I agree with Finski (I usually do if it doesn't involve treating or cell size).  Leave them.  They will force the queen down when it's time.

[T Beek]

Removed a bottom medium from my only wintered over colony yesterday, it was empty of bees, the next one above it was nearly empty too.  There was ample pollen and still some stores from last year in the remaining three mediums above.  I guess that's why they haven't really touched the fondant or syrup much.  Very nice bees considering the winter they just went through (we've got a storm coming at us right now in Northern Wisconsin w/  night temps in the high 20s, low 30s F predicted).

thomas

[Finski]

.
It depends really  much how strong is the hive after winter and how much it can keep brood area warm.
becaus of bad wetahers my hives lost plenty of bees after and during cleansing flights.

I have good hives, which have 6-7 full frame of brood. Then I have hives, which occupy 5 frames and they have 3 patch of brood all together one frames..

when I look closer "5 frame colony" the lower parts of frames are empty. Actually they occuoye  only 2 whole frames. So the "strong hive" has 6 times more brood that a week one.

I moved couple days ago in the middle of sunny day 3 frame hive to outer yeard and combines to another 3 frames. I left an empty box on site, that bees which were in willows, they may find a home. What I found in the evening, 20 foragers!!!  I had given a frame of emerging bees to the hive.

I have a situation that I started 20 days ago patty feeding. Now they are getting new bees a lot. But it takes several week that I had to enlarge to hive. Wintered bees will be all dead after 2 weeks.
Smallest colonies cannot stand the loss of wintering bees and witout the aid of emjerging bees from bigger hives, some colonies will be dead.

Strong hive in these days, when brooding has started, depends on how much there are capped brood there.
larvae emerge after 2-3 weeks.
.

[Finski]

 
It appears the other posters in this thread are all using deeps.

Nothing wrong with "all medium system". many use that when the muscles are nmot enough stromg to handle full langstroths.

[/quote]
remove that bottom super which you'll put on top of the other two at a later date. 
[/quote]

because of mites, many of my hives are this spring very weak. I have deminished the space of the hive. Some has 3 frame space and some 5 frames. They has electrict heating all.

When new bees start to emerge next week, I give to weak hives emerging bees. It will speed up their build up.
But if I take too much brood from big hives, I spoil their build up.

Splitting the hive in spring is a biggest mistakes what a beekeeper may make.

.
.

[T Beek]

I always bring extra supers and frames whenever digging into a colony.  That way I can remove and replace frames from individual supers one at a time while inspecting hive and opening brood nest at same time and only have to move a full super of bees once, during the initial breakdown.  Makes it a snap for cleaning bottoms too.

The best part about using all mediums is  that all frames are interchangeable with all supers.

thomas

[Finski]

The best part about using all mediums is  that all frames are interchangeable with all supers.

thomas

The best part about using all mediums is  that all frames are interchangeable with all supers.

thomas

Yes, that makes nursing actions very flexible. You may pick honey filled combs from brood box and lift them up to supers. When foundatios are half drawn in super, you may use them in brood area.

When new combs have had once brood, they stand much more better extracting.

[Brian D. Bray]

I'll repeat something I've posted several times before in response to similar questions.

Bees rebuild their hives in the spring opposite of how they consumed its stores over the winter.  If the bees were in the bottom box and worked up to the top box during the winter, then in spring the bees will develop the initial brood box in the top box, working down through the hive as the population and stores grow.  If, on the other hand, they stayed in one box and brought stores to the cluster (as many hives do) then will begin the brood chamber where they clustered and work out in all directions from that spot.

Reversing boxes just confuses the bees, producing a set back of several weeks in development.

Hives will often generate reproductive swarms before they have fully occupied the available space within the hive, whether they were supered or not.

[VolunteerK9]

Reversing boxes just confuses the bees, producing a set back of several weeks in development.

I reversed a few and left the rest alone. It may have just been a coincidence, but the reversed hives still arent up to par with the others. (Dont blast me-I know it could be from a variety of different things) But I wont do it again. Makes sense to me (now) to leave it alone.

[T Beek]

Reversing is just a 'simpler' method of KYBO (keeping your broodnests open) but it doesn't work nearly as well or as often.  I'd much rather shift frames around then shift supers, any day :)

thomas