Is this normal? I usually check my hive every two weeks. Well two weeks ago I felt as though it was time to put the super on, I am new to beekeeping and the bees had filled the brood box. I mean it’s full and I was nervous so I called the nY number and asked if it was ok because some of the comb from the frames were touching. I was reassured that it was and that sometimes bees just create shortcuts, I was told the next time I go into the hive to just take my hive tool and remove the extra comb. I need to mention I’m not sure if I smelled the honey or not but the comb was dark. Ok so fast forward to today and I’m nervous, should I go into the brood box? Should I give it more time? I’ve added pictures, please help. Thank you in advance.
Hello and welcome to the Flow Forum!
I have no idea what the nY number is, or what that means, sorry!
In New York, you probably need double brood boxes, unless you are willing to feed your bees diligently over winter. Same in North Carolina.
The comb that you describe sounds like “brace comb” or “bridge comb”, which is what bees would naturally build inside a hollow tree (the normal site for a hive). It is perfectly fine to remove it. It will probably have honey in it, or some brood, but don’t worry, the queen lays more than 1,000 eggs per day, so you aren’t hurting them much. Plus, the regulations in the US require that you fully inspect your hives in a timely manner. You can’t do that if the frames are welded together with wax. This is life, and part of managing livestock.
Yes, go into the brood box, and take some pictures from inside the hive. It will help us to help you more.
It looks to me as if your bees are “bearding” on the outside. They do that when the weather is hot. It is normal. You can reduce it by placing a slatted rack (Mann Lake sells them) under the brood box
Wishing you all the best!
Thank you for responding, I will go into the brood box and take some pics, it’s has been very warm here in North Carolina the past few days. When I say the NY number I was referring to the customer service number. Thank you again.
I wrote this whole big thing… but then I erased it when zoomed in on your picture… are your combs misaligned?? It does like like they are in the open position…
Cheers Nick B
Hey there I followed the instructions when I received my combs is this not how they are supposed to be? This is very stressful to say the least. I’ve added a picture of when I first put the super on without any bees in it. I’m very discouraged.
They look better than the top ones… the top just looked a bit unaligned was all…
You need to check the brood… see if its packed and if there are any queen cells? Or cups… looks like a peanut hanging off your brood frame… if so then advice says splits your hive and put the current queen in with the new split and put a new queen in with the frames you leave behind…
Cheers
NB
They look fine to me. Flow frames are tricky in photos, as the angle of the photograph can change the perspective so that they look out of alignment.
Try not to be discouraged or stressed, this is supposed to be fun! Yes, there is a lot to learn in the first couple of years, but the important thing is that you care, and you are trying hard. Well done!
Thank you so much for the words of encouragement
It took two years for my bees to start filling up the super and even when the inner frames were 80% full one couldn’t tell by looking at the observation window. This was because the outer frames weren’t being used and the last 10 percent of each frame (as in, the last bit near the extraction point) wasn’t being used either. The easiest way to tell is to look at the frames individually (you needn’t remove the super to do so). Take the roof off and have a look at some of the inner frames. I normally have my smoker prepared but I have never needed to use it as my bees are very tolerant of my removing the odd flow frame to have a look. Having said that, I do not inspect the hive anywhere near as frequently as is common practice, so the bees seem to be more tolerant when it does happen (that’s my theory and I’m sticking to it!). I am sure you will be fine!
As Dawn said… its better that you care… go overboard ask all the questions annoy everyone
Im sure I will in the coming months… we need bees and bees need us to look after their hives…