Hi
I’m new to bee keeping and Ive started harvesting the honey from my first batch from my flow hive + (amazing!). the issue I can foresee is that the brood box is full of honey and so is the super (did I put the super on too late?). I’m not sure if I should swap out some of the frames in the brood box for new (50/50 old vs new?) or should I get another beehive langstroth) and try to split the hive? I also don’t have a honey comb extractor.
Hi Martyn.
If you are only using a single brood box, the bees shouldn’t fill it with honey, especially while you have a good laying queen. You can be forgiven for thinking that all the frames are full of honey by looking down on them before lifting any out. Bees naturally store honey above the brood in an arc shape. The frames in the center can have little to no honey above the brood, then it increases towards the sides.
If using 2 brood boxes, sometimes the bees will fill or partially fill the top one with honey, while using the bottom box for brood. Other times they’ll fill the top box with brood, while leaving the bottom box empty apart from pollen. Other times a mixture of both. Each colony will treat 2 brood boxes different to each other in some way. Then it can depend on the time of season & availability of resources.
Thank you Jeff
I’ll take a look. I think i also left the super off for too long? if the frames are full, should I just take the ones with more honey out and just replace with empty frames?
Apart from what you mentioned above, what is the advantage of having 2 brood boxes from a bee keepers perspective? not sure whether i should buy a second brood box or just buy a second flow hive? i presume the latter will provide me with more honey, but not sure if thats the best option?
I’m in Buderim, I only use single brood boxes. I use other brood boxes to split into as a swarm prevention strategy. Then I sell the nucs after they become queen-rite, which frees up the brood boxes for further splits. No need to purchase another flow hive for this purpose, unless you specifically want a second one. All you need is a bee box, lid & bottom board, plus extra frames from a local bee supplier. I make my own lids & bottom boards, also the odd box out of unwanted pine furniture.
This time of year, the bees should be using every brood frame for at least some brood. As winter approaches, we find that bees will start to constrict the brood, while replacing it with honey. When that happens we can start to see frames on the outside to be full of honey. Then the middle frames that should currently have little to no honey arc will develop a decent sized one.
I am also new so don’t believe everything I say but my understanding is if you harvest the honey from the super (not all but a few frames) the bees are likely to move the honey from the bottom up.