2nd Inspection Hive #2 Feb 18

[Jen]

Crazy comb on the underside of the inner cover, due to shim. Great Artwork Girls  removed the shim.







This hive is, from bottom up, one deep brood, one medium brood, one super. Let's start with the honey super on top and work down.

HONEY SUPER - Found the queen, and she's laying in a better pattern this season    looks like they have enough stores until the first flow, fresh nectar, remants of ruby honey, pollen, and brood.





















MIDDLE MEDIUM BROOD BOX - 3 frames in the middle with brood, not much, larvae, outside frames empty or w/pollen







BOTTOM DEEP BROOD BOX - Nothing! Absolutely Nothing! except mold. Pretty clean bottom board

[Yankee11]

So you gonna get rid of the deeps now and go all mediums before she start laying in it?

[Jen]

Hiya Yankee    Yeah so, that is my next question. I posed this question last year when the queen just would not go down to the deep. She never did go down to the deep, or the bees didn't take her down to the deep. I'm waiting for more feed back on this again. And, I did try last year to move the deep up over the brood box medium and they sill wouldn't lay in it. Either something is not comfortable with the deep, or they just want to go up.


PS. You are crazy nuts to go 3 deeps... just sayin... cause I care 

[Yankee11]

That's where you have the problem, if you could moved frames of brood into that empty box the bees would move into it quick.  I always move 2 frames of brood into a empty box.

And yes I am crazy. I will post a picture of me standing on a ladder adding deeps. 

[Yankee11]

BTW, I have a device I am going to try on my 3 deep hives that I will post a picture of when I get it ready.

It's a shim/entrance with a small landing board. It goes between the top brood box and the the first super. It.s like a complete 2nd entrance. this way all the foragers can come and go directly into the supers and not have to crawl up and down through the 3 deep brood boxes. A beekeeper in MO sent me one to test. I am going to make some more and put them on the 3 deep hives.

According the note he sent to me with the shim/spacer, he got about 70lbs more honey from the hives using the spacer/shim. It also alleviates crowding in the brood boxes from all the foragers coming and going.

[Jen]

Crazy Yankee- Are you honey supers going to be deeps as well?

Yeah I tend to fall off of ladders so nix that idea for me 

Ya know, I could take a couple of deep brood frames from the deep mother hive, the one I just inspected on Monday, and put them into this deep. Mother hive is Loaded with bees. Lets see.... I would have to make sure that the nurse bees came with it...  thinking out loud

Or, I could just knock the deep out of this hive and lower the two mediums down to the bottom board.The medium brood box already has three frames of brood... thinking...

[Yankee11]

Yea, if it were me I would just add another 3rd medium to this hive and do away with the deep. Have 3 mediums for the brood chamber.

[Riverrat]

Is this the same queen you was going to send to the gallows late last year?

[Jen]

Nope this is the purchased queen that stopped all the swarming. She had a so so laying pattern last year, but this year her pattern is tight with an arc.

[tefer2]

Second year queens seem to grab another gear, don't they.
This is your chance to do away with the deep brood box if that's your plan.
It would make a nice sized swarm trap!
Just fill it with medium frames.

[Yankee11]

Do you medium drawn comb to put in there for her or just foundation?

[tefer2]

I usually place one or two old dark brood frames in the swarm trap.
Fill out the rest with empty frames, no foundation.
The empty frames gives them something to work on till you come get them.

[Jen]

Tef, last spring was the first time I purchased and replaced a queen, so I was anxious to see how she would do this season, so far, very good. I'm pleased.

I like your's and Yankees idea of knocking out the deep. It would give me a chance to go all meds on one hive and see how I like it.

[Jen]

Yankee- "Do you medium drawn comb to put in there for her or just foundation?

     You mean, meduim drawn comb for the third medium?

[Slowmodem]

Second year queens seem to grab another gear, don't they.
This is your chance to do away with the deep brood box if that's your plan.
It would make a nice sized swarm trap!
Just fill it with medium frames.

Why would medium frames work better than deep frames in a deep box?

[Yankee11]

Yea Jen. just wondering if you have drawn comb for that 3rd medium box, or are they gonna have to pull if before queen has room to lay.

[tefer2]

A deep hive body gets me close to the recommended size, 40L. The empty space under the medium frames gives them a space to cluster with overhead storage.
When I compare swarm size, larger swarm colonies choose the medium framed set ups.
Plus the fact that we use all 10 fr medium sized equipment.
My next thought was to use shallows, and catch even larger swarms.
But, the mediums won out for catching the most bees. JMHO

[tefer2]

Yea Jen. just wondering if you have drawn comb for that 3rd medium box, or are they gonna have to pull if before queen has room to lay.

If it's foundation, my money would be on them building cells before they get it drawn out.
And if it's "PLASTIC", OMG!
If you have drawn out frames, exchange a few with some down below.
The whole idea is to keep the nurse bees busy. When they sit idle, swarm preparations begin.

[lazy shooter]

Jen:

There's not enough data to make a decision.  Please send more pictures?

[riverbee]

"Jen:

There's not enough data to make a decision.  Please send more pictures?

"

too funny lazy!...........

(ps. sorry jen! carry on!) enjoying reading the comments and seeing the pics!