A few with 10 frame boxes just fit 9 frames loose in the box with a gap to each side. There are very few 10 frame hives up here unlike in in the southern states, even with commercial bee keepers. I ran 10 frame hives in the Hawkesbury but coming up to a sub-tropical climate I followed suit to what others up here do, for whatever reason.
Cheers Steve
I didnāt leave that gap sorry. I should have said that. I can see where that would concerning. Let me see if I have a pic
You can do nine loose frames in a honey super to make uncapping easier, but you should always have brood frames hard up against each other.
With hive sizing everything Iāve ever read has mentioned eight frame equipment being preferred in colder climates like Victoria, while anywhere north of NSW ten frames seems to be king with 12 frame hives even being popular in some parts of Queensland.
When 9 frames are in a 10 frame box the frames are shoulder to shoulder and a gap from the outside frame to the box seems popular but some space a gap between the frames.
I ran 10 frame hives and mostly double brood hives down in the Hawkesbury for the added warmth of a stronger colony over Winter without the need for considering insulation in the really cold areas.
I do get about most of northern NSW and Queensland and know of only three using 10 frame hives, one is a commercial bee keeper, another if JeffH who I regard as semi-commercial and a chap near Noosa with 6 ten frame hives. My two nearest bee gear shops donāt even stock 10 frame hive gear so I donāt think a 10 frame hive is as popular up here as you have read. If they were I probably would have stuck with 10 frame hives myself.
I donāt see a lot of commercial (1000+ hives) operators in NSW using eight frame equipment, would likely be less efficient.
Also looking at most suppliers in NSW they usually carry much more ten frame stock vs eight.
Itās the same in the US where you see eight frame equipment being more popular in the northern states while in places like Texas itās 10-12. But Americans are also much more flexible with their choices of frame sizes while we seem to be welded onto using deeps.
I agree with that, I donāt recall any commercial bee keeper in NSW using 8 frame hives. But they are much more in use up here. I had forgotten that 12 frame boxes existed but never known of anyone using them, maybe not in much use because of the weight.
In the U.S. there is a much wider acceptance of shallower boxes than in Australia.
I think that has a great deal to do with the dominance that commercial beekeeping principles have in Australia, and manufacturers just fell into line and stopped producing things like telescopic lids etc.
If you go into most beekeeping shops or clubs in Sydney the default recommendation is 10 frame deep for everything.
Iām currently transitioning to all WSP.
Itās always a good idea to use a dummy board for the first frame. You can remove it without damaging any bees or comb and then move the other frames over to give you space to work.
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I never heard that tip til you said it, Jim - what a good one esp for newbeeks!
Thank you Jim. That is a great idea. I never thought of that.
Leaving the Hive in tact with super for winter survival?
Unless you live somewhere with a continuous nectar flow you should remove the flow super for winter.
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I understand that queen stops laying in November. I would like to remove the queen excluder in late October to prevent egg laying in the super,allowing the queen to move up the super when she needs more food. I live in the United States and the winters can be harsh at times. So is this a good time for this preparation for winter? I already had a big colony loss due to swarming in June. I welcome any rhoughts or suggestions. Thank you!
It depends on your queen but in here in Ohio there is always a little bit of brood. But as far as winter prep, see how they do with goldenrod and aster in your area and then feed them afterward if they need it to get up to weight.
Are you talking about a flow super or a regular super? My advice - donāt keep the flow super on over the winter or without an excluder.
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Leaving a Flow super on in climates with harsh winters is a bad idea - for reasons Alok stated, and also your bees will probably propolize in there. Propolis will literally gum up your works! I harvest whatever is in mine in late summer and feed it back to the colony in winter.
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Great information thank you so much. How do you feed them the honey back in the winter? Do you use the cover roof cutout ro place a jar there on top of the brood box with opening for them to feed? I am wondering about that. As you can tell, I am a beginner and very appreciative of any help. Thank you!
You can do it just like you would feed sugar syrup. Dilute the honey in half with water before feeding.
Sure thing! It wasnāt so long ago that I was a beginner too, and Iām definitely still learning. For winter feeding honey is already the right consistency and I wouldnāt dilute it. Iād worry about it fermenting if it isnāt taken quickly enough. You can put it into a baggie with a few slits cut into it and lay it on the inner cover under the Flow roof or a standard lid with a shim. An inverted jar should work fine too!
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Hi Christine, Iām more than inclined to agree with @Eva , I also think that diluted honey would ferment. This is why bees dewater honey to ripen it, before they put a cap on. They must know instinctively that if they cap it too early, it will ferment in the comb.
Hi all Jim Here , not sure if this was covered anyplace else or not. I am a new bk and during my insp. I had a comb fall out of my frame as I was attempting to straighten it , it was also to soft to get back into the frame to rubber band it ā¦can I place the damaged comb on top of the frames for the bees to clean up? or should i just remove it totally from the hive? after a thoughtful pause decided to remove as the larva would not be saved anyway and it allowed me to seal the hive again to keep the girls warmā¦I will reopen in a week and hope to find the Queen , at least see if there is any new larva; brood