Should I rearange disorganized hive for winter?

[David LaFerney]

My hive is from a package in May, and has mostly build out 3 - 8 frame medium boxes.  Population density is high in those boxes, but there is not much organization.  Being my first year I didn't have any drawn comb to give them so the queen layed all over the place as comb became available and they have put stores all over the place as well.  Between 2-1 syrup that I started feeding 3 weeks ago and what they are bringing in they are rebuilding stores - which they had mostly used up during the summer dearth. 

So, there is a somewhat random mixture of capped and uncapped  honey/syrup, pollen frames, brood, empty combs, and a few scantily drawn frames.  Most brood is in the top two boxes. Scantily drawn frames are mostly on the outside behind honey.  This doesn't sound to me like a good arrangement going into winter - but then again, what do I know?

It's about a month till light frost and about 7 weeks to killing frost if it's a normal fall.  Should I rearrange things?  If so, when?  And if I do rearrange,  where should everything go?

[RayMarler]

You've still got one full brood cycle before light frost. Just feed like crazy in a way that they can get as much nectar as possible in a short time. With the feed coming in, as the brood hatches they'll move the cured nectar up to fill in the top. They'll arrange things fine if you can keep the feed coming to them, there's still time left in the year. I'm feeding 3 of mine here like crazy, they are late summer splits I'm trying to get built up.

[Kathyp]

i don't think i'd worry to much about the brood.  that will take care of it's self.  you can move your scantily drawn frames in and see if they will finish them and fill them.  if you are feeding, they may.  put them in the boxes with the most bees to give you the best chance of getting them drawn.  i would probably put them on either side of the biggest batch of brood, but if they don't do anything with them, you may need to pull them and put them back on the outside.  you want stores next to where the bees will cluster, which is usually over the brood in the middle.

it's not uncommon for the bees to kind of ignore outside frames.  next year try to catch that early and rotate those frames in.

if you didn't do anything, that would probably be ok too.  depend on what you want.  rotating them in will give you the best chance of getting them finished and filled...if the bees cooperate.

[Michael Bush]

Just because the bees don't have it organized as you would doesn't mean it's not organized...