Good day, absolute rookie here from Perth, Western Australia. I set up my Flow Hive just before Christmas 2024 and had a nucleus put into my broodbox then. Flowering plants (ie nectar flow and pollen) has been virtually absent in my area and I fed regularly with a sugar solution. The last 2 weeks pollen and nectar sources have exploded and susequently so has my bee numbers in my brood box. Upon inspection yesterday I noted that the 2 very outer waxed frames are completely empty with single bees exploring them. The middle 6-8 frames are chockers with brood, eggs, bee bread etc. Can I move the empty frames to the middle to get them filled quicker? Thanks
1 Like
Good day 
Yes you can do that, it’s known as checkerboarding, referring to placement of empties alternating with fulls. It’s a good strategy when the weather is trending warm and forage is abundant, but a bad one if the colony is weak, it’s too cold, or there’s not much forage.
I’m wondering if you should get ready to super as well. Folks in your region will know best.
3 Likes
Thank you Eva!! How exciting… cannot wait for my 1st drop of my own honey🤩
1 Like
Hi Innis, I used to do exactly what you’re proposing thinking that the colony will build up faster, however in reality: in order for the bees to build on those frames, adjacent brood will need to be compromised, which is why I decided to let the bees build up in their own time. It allows them to keep the brood at the optimum temp.
Once the bees have filled all the frames in the brood box, and are ready to grow into a second box, then I feel it’s time to start checkerboarding the brood box. Then there are a lot more bees to help maintain the brood temp around the empty frames, if needed.
1 Like