Hi all
As far as I’m aware bees start depositing honey in the centre of the middle frame of the honey super and work their way out. So when the side window and the back windows are full of capped honey the rest should be full,
BUT
ours seem to be starting at the edges. Side and back are full, outside two frames are full and capped, but all the rest have a horse shoe of honey and the centre of all but the two outside frames have none.
This seems to be the opposite to everything I’ve read… Any ideas why?
The flow supers were new.
They’re about 75% capped honey.
There’s no brood in the super, only honey.
Sydney is having the worst honey season in years.
Hive is very strong, good population, no pests.
Brood box h as everything going on that it should.
We got our nuc in September and still haven’t had a harvest.
Hi Ron, things with bees don’t always happen as we expect or we’re taught.
They don’t always start in the middle frame. They will start above the area of brood with the most brood activity, in my experience.
Always remember that the bees don’t know the queen can’t get through the QX. They will prepare comb for her to lay in, just as if it wasn’t there.
The time of season, as well as what’s coming in plays a roll in how each colony arranges the honey around the brood.
Try to imagine how a colony would arrange the brood & honey if the frames weren’t there & the colony was established in the empty boxes.
The bees are leaving space for the queen to lay as @JeffH said. This actually happens pretty often, and you aren’t the first to post about it.
How full is the brood box? If it is chock-a-block, you could try putting an empty frame of foundation into it. This has worked for me in the past. The bees then fill the rest of the super.
The other thing you can do is drain the frames which are mostly capped at the outside, and leave the middle frames to refill. When the bees realize that they have more space, they may well move stuff around to a more logical pattern.
Thanks guys. Wasn’t concerned, just curious.
The hive looks very healthy, but trust us to choose the worst season in 10 years or more to start our bee adventure.
We’re going to rob the 2 full frames next weekend if the weather is OK. Leave the rest for them to eat in winter, altho another beek who lives about 3km away says they usually harvest thru winter. Our coldest days are 13°c, but normally 16° to 18°c so they should still be flying.
Thanks again
Ron
