Hi I’m Nick and I’m new to all this, so I was hoping someone can answer this easy question:
I live in Big Bear, Ca and I added the second brood box and I also added the queen excluder, is this the right time to add the excluder? Also it’s still getting in the 30’s at night.
Thanks,
Nick
Where did you put the queen excluder (QE)? If you are using double deep brood boxes, most people put the QE on top of the upper brood box, just below the honey super. In that case, you don’t need the QE on the hive until it is ready for a super, which it won’t be yet, if you only just added a second brood box.
The only reason to put the QE on now would be if you were going to put it between the 2 brood boxes, and then remove it in the fall. The purpose of that would be to keep the colony size manageable (less space for brood, so a smaller colony). Some people do that, but the majority do not. Your choice really. There is no absolute right or wrong.
In your microclimate, I would prefer to let the queen have access to both brood boxes, so that there are plenty of bees to warm the cluster in the late fall when the temperatures really start to drop.