Downsizing after harvest

[vincent]

G'day all,

My hives here in NS are in full swing, very exciting. I have a few that aren't producing much, and a few that are booming. In fact there are a couple that have 3 supers on currently.

My excitement quickly turned to worry. I am not used to having hives this big. One of them was fairly honey-bound, so I swapped out some frames in the brood box to prevent swarming, so far so good.

My question is, if these hives have a large population, the space to house them is partially in the 3 supers. When I harvest and remove them, where will all these bees go? I'd do a split, but I worry that it's too late in the year.

Thanks.

[Curtchann]

That us a good question! I left my hives last fall with 2 extra supers as I had them in all mediums. I know that a friend leaves his sulers on until sometime in Oct. But he constantly swaps out supers as they are capped.

[rober]

when the flow slows down & resources become scarce the queen will slow down her laying to adjust the population accordingly.
keep an eye on the weight of the hives so you'll know whether they need to be fed in the fall.

[Perry]

Don't forget that as the queen slows down the attrition rate of the workers continues unabated so that your populations will start to drop about the same time.

[Jen]

"Don't forget that as the queen slows down the attrition rate of the workers continues unabated so that your populations will start to drop about the same time."

   Perry, sorry, I don't get this... scratching head 

[vincent]

What I think he means is that there comes a point in late summer where the number of bees dying or absconding exceeds the number being born. So you have a net loss of population before winter.

[Perry]

What I think he means is that there comes a point in late summer where the number of bees dying or absconding exceeds the number being born. So you have a net loss of population before winter.