Double brood boxes

[GRIZZLY]

What are your preferences ? New brood box plus undrawn frames over? or under? existing brood box or,doesn't it make any difference?? (changeing to D.Brood later on in the year)

[gavin]

They like to go up. Any I have that are powerful early in the spring get a second brood box, and three are heading that way this year already. Need to make up some boxes!

I would only do it as they approach the filling of their first box. Foundation is fine as long as they have some time to think about it before they need the space.

My doubles come down to singles in the summer at nuc raising and splitting time. No way could they go to the hills in that state, and inspecting such monsters is not for the fainthearted, especially if the bees have any tendency to grumpiness.

[GRIZZLY]

Fortunately my bees are very gentle - rather like Murrays and can be almost handled sans veil and smoke.

[GRIZZLY]

Do you think they would take more readily to bare foundation if some of the brood frames got moved up and some of the foundation was place down ?They would also need feeding to get drawing comb methinks.

[EmsE]

I've needed to use foundation with mine and haven't had any problems with the bees drawing it out, but I only increase to a double when there is a flow on so there is no need to feed. One colony got a full box of foundation to work on just before I took the supers off in august (placed on top of the original brood box) so that the workers would have plenty of space when the supers were removed. Within a couple of weeks it was all drawn out and full of nectar- one of the benefits of having the himalayan balsam.

[gavin]

I perfectly agree - put it on when there's a flow starting and they will draw it fine. For me, the start of the rape in mid April is when the strong colonies need the space.

[Troutnabout]

A few years ago my dad had set his/our hives up with a brood and a half, i.e. normal brood box plus a super for brood. I had to take over looking after the bees when the old boy became too ill to do so last year. I found it quite hard to go through the brood and a half, especially as the bees i have are very swarmy (carnies) and there were always loads of queen cells to deal with and I'm sure I missed a couple.

I was planning to revert to a single brood this year to give myself time to become more experienced at working with the bees. will this result in more work for myself due to the swarmy nature of the bees? or will it make life easier for me? I can only get into the hives at the weekends - got to work as i have a wife, mortgage and 2 kids who refuse to move out and set up their own homes with their partners

[EmsE]

If reducing to a single, it would probably be best after the colony has passed it's peak in brood but make sure you have enough supers on to house the bees. Last year I reduced mine down to a single in April, knowing I would be moving them in May and knew there was no chance of me moving a double brood box hive even with help! I was told that by reducing them down in April was 'asking for trouble' and sure enough by the beginning of May a couple of weeks later, they had lots of almost sealed queen cells in both. It could be just coincidence in that they were going to swarm anyway but???
I'm back to double broods on those that were strong enough and the rest will be this year. Whilst there are more frames to go through, one thing to remember is that in a double brood, most of the queen cells (but not all-unfortunately) tend to hang from the frames in the top box, so just wedging the hive open between the 2 boxes and having a look in gives a good indication to what is going on .

[Adam]

I think you asked for trouble and got it! However moving a double brood hive is no easy matter either so you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.
They may well have decided to swarm anyway but reducing to a single box at that time of the year would result in congestion which wouldn't have helped a swarming tendancy.
I guess the solution would be to reduce to one box. Move that evening and then put a second box on the next day; before they've realised they're squashed in. ??

[EmsE]

I'll certainly be considering that this year when I have to move them again in April as they're currently on a temporary site after being moved at the new year.