Reversing Hive Bodies

[tecumseh]

a partial LazyBkp snip...
Well..    I cant argue with the experts,
Reversing puts a lot of space above the queen, and its like putting sugar on in the fall. Insurance. Perhaps you dont need to reverse, but what have you hurt if you do?  Nothing at all.

tecumseh...
all good point Lazy and imho there is nothing wrong with arguing with experts (which just between me and you and in casual reflection of your own beekeeping resume you certainly do qualify for that particular title).  reversing whether good or bad or potential disaster may well be dependent on landscape and the intensity and duration of the first flow.  which is to suggest that what works in one place may perhaps not work so well somewhere else.  as I suggested in my prior post reversing here only appears to be necessary in about 50% of the hives I inspect but for that 50% this simple manipulation may well be the difference between a hive swarming and not swarming..... or I suspect the difference between an early infestation of wax moth or not.

[Perry]

I always scrape off burr comb and most ladder comb, especially between my brood chambers. I sometimes leave it on if it extends from the bottom box to the bottom board. There is no way I want to be setting that upper deep down and have that queen decide just then that she wants to go over top of a frame.
Seriously, I doubt that having ladder comb removed prevents the girls from getting where they want to go unless they are really lazy.
Besides, I need the wax for my candles, and if they want it they can build some more!

[LazyBkpr]

 "Physicist Neils Bohr once quipped, An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.
   This definition clearly excludes me from being any sort of expert, since I exuberantly continue to make new mistakes in my own beekeeping adventures."
   Randy Oliver


   A lot of experience, with no practical application until the last few years. So like Mr. Oliver says, I am no expert. I have used the argument often enough, that location, climate and bees all make a huge difference in method. Thank you Tec, I needed the reminder.
   

[iddee]

Here's a good one for you. I was mentoring a beek a few years ago. The second or third year we went into my hives together. He had asked many times why I didn't reverse hive bodies. On this particular day, the first hive we went into, I said, "Now here's a good example of beekeeping. I don't reverse, but this hive I am reversing. The bottom box has nothing but pollen, the top box has nothing in the bottom third. It needs reversing."{
As I've said before, there's no hard, fast rules in beekeeping. You do what you think best in each situation and hope for the best.

[tbonekel]

You know, it was kind of weird for me. When I went into those two hives, there was just something that made me decide to reverse. Nothing in the bottom box but pollen. They appeared so organized and efficient. I have another hive that is a strong hive, but looks like they really don't know which way is up. It looked as if there was no organization with different stuff everywhere. The thought of reversing never crossed my mind. Again, with each hive situation, the decision can be different. On the two that I reversed, we shall see how they do.

[Gypsi]

Makes sense.  I do not ALWAYS do anything.  When in doubt I don't act, that's cost me a hive or 2.  My gut says reverse, I reverse. I listen to my gut and see what the bees are doing and consult gut heavily.

[brooksbeefarm]

I hear you Gypsi, but be careful listening to your gut, my gut kept leading me to Wendy's for a chocolate frosty til my belt was in the last notch and i couldn't see my belt buckle anymore. Jack

[caesarsfish]

I never reverse brood boxes as I think it is better to checkerboard.  The queen will seldom go over stored honey  to the upper brood box and checkerboarding will give her a path.  I do reverse supers, they seem to fill faster.

[LazyBkpr]

I hear you Gypsi, but be careful listening to your gut, my gut kept leading me to Wendy's for a chocolate frosty til my belt was in the last notch and i couldn't see my belt buckle anymore. Jack

   Litening to the gut?  is that anything like the voices I hear all the time?  I'd be terrified to listen to them, and you really dont wnat to know what they keep telling me to do!         

[Gypsi]

well ya'll had fun with that.  Went through both my hives Friday afternoon, the small hive with the Beeweavers queen is still the smaller of the 2 but the queen is laying up a storm and they have stores all around the brood and the box I added on top I made sure the heaviest honeystores were over the broodnest.

and the bees I reversed box on are packing in stores in the top box from syrup, and the queen had eggs in the top center frame.  Didn't go through the bottom, all appears well and I didn't want to roll the queen.