Checkerboarding (Walt Wright)

[sc-bee]

The intention of this thread is to gather information about Walt Wrights checkerboard system in one location. The best resource for reading about the system is through Walt's articles or a copy of his manuscript. I am not sure if copies of the manuscript are still being sold. At one time the manuscript was available in pdf form or in print for the cost of printing directly for Walt or his family. Be aware that as Walt refined the system there were a few changes, so earlier articles may vary some from articles later in print. Walt even acknowledged himself that some diagrams were not now correct in some articles.

A complete library of Walt's articles that were published can be found here:
http://beesource.com/point-of-view/walt-wright/

Walt was looking for a swarm prevention method and noticed while experimenting with his system an increase of nectar gathering was noted so therefore an increase in honey production. He initially named the system and manuscript "Nectar Management." Because of the movement of honey frames in a checker board pattern the manipulation later was coined "Checkerboarding" or "CBing"

I would like to note, this thread is about Walt Wright's checkerboarding maneuver. In Walt's system you DO NOT MOVE BROOD FRAMES EVER! So please to do not post replies in this thread about moving brood frames or checkering foundation. This confuses folks on checkerbaording as Walt taught it. Please keep the thread pure in the respect of posting about Walt Wright's Checkerboarding.


Walt was a NASA Engineer and I admit I sometimes struggles with his writings. But again the most complete resources are located in Walt's articles and manuscript. You will find complete, lengthy explanations on why Walt felt the bees behaved as they do using his system. I encourage you to read Walt's writing at least once if not several times.
  Below you will find some synopsis of Walt's Cbing penned by other beekeeprs. Some more simple basic rting on the whys and hows of checkerboarding. I hope this thread helps those that are interested in Walt Wrights Checkerboarding system/maneuver.

Note: If you get past the whys the HOW TO DO checkerboarding is very simple. VERY SIMPLE!



Walt  Wright 83, of Elkton, TN, died 2-6-16.

[sc-bee]

I would like to start by posting a description of Walt's checkerboarding system written by bwrangler on his blog site. Why bwranglers words, well Walt writings have that NASA engineering twist and I can not sometimes follow. Walt said it best in his reply to bwrangler about the blog post:

  Dennis,
    Thanks again. I had forgot just how good your blog was. You do a much better job of explaining the details than I. I'm sure your commercial background helps.

    I started from scratch with no help from beginner books, introductory classes, or club meetings. Didn't even know they existed. I let the bees teach me what they thought I should know.

    Walt


I am going to copy the whole post and paste. Why? Because the site has been moved multiple times and the link may change. I will also paste the link to the blog. Note to all: This is a cold weather beek in Wyoming. The fundamentals of Checkerboarding can/will work in cold climates but the timeline has to be adjusted to your area. That is true for using Cbing in all areas. The initial manipulation (Cbing of honey frames) and timng indicators vary from area to area. Walt was in Tennessee so his manuscript is based on a Tennessee timeline


bwrangler blog http://bwrangler.litarium.com/beekeeping/legacy-beekeeping/checker-boarding

The Idea

Checker boarding is a simple and elegant swarm management tool. It uses the bee's natural swarm and survival impulses to maximize hive populations and honey production. When checker boarding,  empty comb frames are alternated with feed frames in supers directly above the broodnest. Checker boarding:

    increases clustering space.
    keeps the brood in direct contact with their food reserves.
    opens up a honey bound broodnest.
    doesn't chill or disturb brood rearing.
    provides additional empty comb storage for early nectar flows.
    is empty and ready for mid-summer flows.

Implementation and timing isn't critical, when it's done early enough.

The results:

    the swarm impulses is abated.
    early season management is greatly reduced.
    undisturbed hive populations expand rapidly.
    the broodnest isn't honey bound by early nectar flows.
    empty comb directly above the broodnest stimulates summer foraging.
    and that open comb prevents a nectar bound broodnest.

Checker boarding compliments the bee's natural behavior. It?s the only swarm prevention technique that doesn't confuse, frustrate, inhibit, diminish or disturb a colony.

I've only found one problem with checker boarding. It only works on vertical hives with removable comb. So, it's  not an option for a horizontal tbh.

Walt Wrights Manuscript

Checker boarding isn't my idea. It originated with Walt Wright. For a decade, Walt published articles in the American bee magazines. He focuses on Langstroth beekeeping. And his observations are essential for any vertical hive beekeeper wanting maximum production, with minimum effort.

The easiest way to get this information is from Walt. Those bee magazine articles compiled, are about 60 pages long. It's written by a beekeeper, for beekeepers. It's a great beekeeping deal. You can get a copy by sending Walt $10. He has a pdf version available on the internet for $8.

Walt Wright
Box 10
Elkton, TN 38455-0010
WaltWright_@hotmail.com

Thanks Walt, for sharing your observations.

The Details
Here's How

The bee's priorities aren't the beekeepers. A hive, that throws a reproductive swarm and quickly reaches an optimum state for over wintering, won't produce much extra surplus honey.

But when basic seasonal broodnest behavior is understood, bees can be easily managed to prevent swarming and produce an exceptional honey surplus.

When outside resources first become available, frames of capped honey, in the supers directly above the broodnest, are alternated with frames of empty comb. A super has a honey frame, empty frame, honey frame, etc.

Additional supers above the first checker boarded box have frames that are alternated in the opposite fashion. That is, an empty frame, honey frame, empty frame, etc.

The objective is:

    to break up the solid band of capped honey directly above the broodnest.
    leave the broodnest undisturbed.
    keep the cluster in contact with its food supply.
    provide additional hive volume.

Timing

Checker boarding is done early in the spring before the bees begin rapid broodnest expansion. And it must be done before they make any swarm preparations. After that, it's too late to use checker boarding.

Since the broodnest is not disturbed during the process, it can be done earlier and in cooler weather than most other management practices. In fact, the earlier, the better.
Results

Checker boarding allows rapid broodnest expansion:

    when half the honey is consumed, brood rearing space doubles.
    early surplus nectar is moved above the broodnest into empty comb.
    nectar isn't packed into the broodnest below a solid honey band.
    more comb is open above the broodnest where it's warmer.
    broodnest activities and swarming impulses aren't interrupted.
    broodnest expansion isn't restricted by a solid wall of capped honey.

With checker boarding, the broodnest expands naturally, without disruption, and is large. That extra space prevents congestion. And it takes more nectar to backfill as a hive prepares to swarm. That delays swarming. But the bees surely try to pack it. And they gather much honey in the process.

Later, when the bees switch to survival mode, a checker boarded hive has abundant vertical, empty comb space for storing lots of fresh nectar. At white wax, the bees attempt to fill the large empty area above the broodnest. Much to the beekeepers delight.

Limits

In a northern climate, a small colony/nuc builds up faster in a non-checker boarded hive. I live in a cold climate and confining a small cluster, in a smaller hive volume, could have some environmental advantages. Maybe the hive warms up faster or the colony's heat is confined in a more useable space.
My Checker Boarding
Checker boarded hives in early spring.

I over winter my hives in three deeps. In late winter/early spring:

    the broodnest is centered in the middle box.
    the top box is full of capped honey.
    the bottom box consists of empty frames with pollen and a little honey.

When I checker board my hives:

    the middle box with the brood, goes on the bottom board.
    the empty frames from the bottom box are alternated with the full frames from the top box.
    two checker boarded boxes result.
    these two checker boarded boxes are set on top of the brood box.

The resulting hive has:

    a box of brood on the bottom.
    two boxes of checker boarded frames on top of that.

At this time, empty supers could be put on top of the checker boarded hive. That hive would be good to go for the season. But, I wait until dandelion bloom, almost two months later, to add a couple more extra supers. That way, I can work them if needed, without handling empty boxes.

Why It Works--  Biology

It's actually harder to understand the bee behavior, upon which checker boarding is based, and write about it, than it is to manage hives using it.
Broodnest Behavior

Two principles control colony behavior:

    reproductive swarming is the primary focus in early spring.
    eventually, a colony shifts activities from swarming to survival.

These two principles aren't mutually exclusive. In any given cavity, a colony balances food and brood to safely achieve these objectives with minimum risk. A colony won't risk its survival to swarm.
Broodnest Expansion

In late winter, the bees are directly beneath their food supply. They expand the broodnest by consuming food. That expansion is mostly upward. Food consumption also fuels brood rearing in open comb that is warm enough. Drone comb is eventually exposed. A month after broodnest expansion begins, drones are raised.
Honey Reserves

Somehow the bees monitor honey quantity. And they maintain a reserve amount. Walt found that bees reserve a shallow supers' worth. I run deeps and have determined it's about 4 deep frames. That's essentially the same amount and isn't much of a reserve. A large brood rearing colony can consume a deep frame in a day. So, the reserve is a minimal amount, especially when conditions turn bad.

The reserve honey is an emergency food source. When these reserves are tapped, broodnest expansion stops. If the reserves are further depleted, brood rearing stops. Beyond that, brood cannibalism and hive malnutrition rapidly occur. Once a hive dips into its reserves, the colonies maximum seasonal potential is reduced.
Reproduction ? Swarm Preparations
The broodnest is backfilled. They have drones and a queen cell. This hive is preparing to swarm.

As broodnest expansion reaches its limits, the bees prepare to swarm. They begin backfilling the broodnest with uncapped nectar or diluted honey.

When nectar is available before swarm preparations, top bar hive(tbh) bees build storage comb behind the broodnest and store extra reserves there. But once the bees prepare to swarm, little activity occurs behind the broodnest, even when empty comb and nectar resources are available. Their focus shifts from horizontal to vertical.

If enough fresh nectar isn't available, the bees move resources forward from the honey storage area behind the broodnest. This leaves empty combs toward the hives rear.

Open space and open comb aren't factors in swarm preparation for a tbh. When both conditions exist at the far end of the hive, the bees swarm when the broodnest meets their vertically determined requirements. A tbh beekeeper, unfamiliar with this behavior, is often surprised when hives, with open comb and empty horizontal space, swarm.

Backfilling:

    restricts the queens laying.
    provides fuel for the departing swarm.
    and reduces the broodnest volume.

The fewer bees remaining after the swarm departs, can easily take care of the reduced amount of brood. And the additional open comb is readily available for the next generation of brood.

As a commercial beekeeper, I saw backfilling when no surplus nectar was available. We called it shake. Some beekeepers got excited about it, thinking the bees were finally making a living. I always wondered where it came from. Hummmm??.

Once backfilling begins, swarm cells are started. If there isn?t enough food reserves, or backfill, or time, the colony terminates swarming. Then, they switch to their survival behavior without negatively impacting the colony's welfare.

After a certain time, all swarming preparations stop. Walt calls this the "Reproductive Swarm Cut-Off Date". At that time, a colony not on the verge of swarming, abandons swarming regardless of conditions.

Queen cells left after the swarm cut-off date, are supersedure cells. If a beekeeper cuts these cells and doesn't recognize this behavioral change, a colony that needs a new queen, might not get one.

Once a colony swarms, or abandons swarm preparations, its focus shifts to survival. The next three weeks are geared toward producing a colony with the right demographics. Enough house bees are raised to handle the huge nectar/storage demands required for winter survival. And foraging activities are greatly reduced, even when abundant nectar resource are available. Walt calls this the lull in nectar storage.

In my region, the bees work three alfalfa cuttings. They make a little alfalfa/clover honey during the first cutting.

During the second cutting:

    colonies are strong.
    hot days and cool nights, necessary factors for abundant nectar production, exist.
    the alfalfa is left to bloom longer than the first cutting, as the farmers are distracted by other crops.

But the bees don't make much honey on the second cutting. I would see these conditions and expect a great second cutting honey crop. But I never saw one. Until I understood the nectar lull, I was clue less as to why the second cutting was so unproductive.

Seeing this lull in my tbhs, I worried they would starve before fall. They consumed most of the surplus honey above their reserves to produce more bees. And they didn't get much from the second alfalfa cutting.
White Wax

About three weeks after the reproductive swarm cut-off date, a hive has the right demographics for a main flow. Walt calls this the white wax period. At that time, fresh nectar is stored above the broodnest. And storage cell walls are lengthened in areas of larger cell size comb.

In a tbh, the bees enlarged storage cells near the top bar. These enlarged cells often jut into the adjoining combs space making some combs extra fat and others extra thin. To maintain easy comb access, the bulges must be trimmed off with a serrated knife. The bees don't build these bulging combs when nectar is available earlier. White wax signals a fundamental shift in bee behavior.

Tbh bees switch from a horizontal orientation to a vertical one mirroring swarm preparation behavior. Fresh nectar is stored at the broodnest's top. And all cells, larger than small cell size, are filled and capped. The remaining small cell comb, at the broodnest's core, is filled with nectar. But it isn?t capped. If nectar resources fall short, the bees move honey from the tbh's far end and pack the broodnest with it. That often leaves more empty comb at the hive?s rear.

Once the broodnest is packed, the bees switch to a horizontal focus. They fill the honey storage area until optimum survival conditions exist. After that, hive activity is greatly reduced. Foraging, even though hive space and nectar resources exist, almost ceases. And they won't take additional feed.
Optimum Survival Condition

Now, the bees are almost ready for winter. Hive activity is at a minimum. And the bees are putting on their winter fat. The cluster size is optimum. There?s enough food and it?s in the right place. The open broodnest comb, where the bees cluster over the winter, is on the small cell comb near the hive entrance. There, broodnest pests are actively removed, leaving the colony in the best possible health.
My Timing

Here are my timing notes using the terminology from Walt Wrights manuscript. Remember I live in Wyoming:

    I checker board before the end of March.
    swarm preparations start the fourth week of May.
    my swarm reproductive cut off date occurs during the third week of June.
    actual reproductive swarming occurs from the second week in June to the first week in July.
    the storage lull occurs from the third week of June until the second week of July.
    the white wax period begins during the second week of July.

Walt has more to say about nectar management. Checker boarding can be fine tuned to local conditions.

If you try checker boarding expect:

     much stronger hives, much earlier.
    with few exceptions, swarming is a thing of the past.
    honey production increases.
    an easier work load.

At least that's been my experience over the last decade.

[sc-bee]

bwrangler decided he would compare methods... so he did his un-checkerboarded observations

http://bwrangler.litarium.com/beekeeping/observations/un-checker-boarding/

Checker Boarding vs Conventional Methods

The Idea
Un-checker Boarded Hives
Conventional setup.

After a decade of checker boarding, a beeyard was reconfigured and run in a conventional manner.

During the checker boarding phase:

    hives were in 3 deep brood chambers.
    checker boarded in March.
    required no additional feeding.
    produced more than twice the average honey crop.
    less than 10% of the hives tried to swarm.
    minimal inspections/labor.

Conventional setup:

    hives were in 2 deep brood chambers.
    required feeding.
    required frequent inspections.
    labor intensive.
    extra supers were added when polished cups were seen.
    queen cells were cut.
    90% tried to swarm.
    25% actually swarmed.
    most swarm prevented hives were demoralized.
    produced less than an average honey crop.

The Details

This season, I ran a bee yard the standard way, without checker boarding. These hives were:

    moved from 3 deep supers into 2.
    manually hefted to determine spring feed requirements.
    light weight hives were fed honey frames.
    at the first sign of polished swarm cups, a super was added on top of the two brood boxes.
    swarming hives were checked once a week.
    and swarm cells were cut out.

Results
Swarming

The conventional run hive?s statistics reversed themselves compared to when those same hives were checker boarded.

With checker boarding:

    less than 10 percent of my hives wanted to swarm.

Without checker boarding:

    over 90% wanted to swarm.
    broodnests were quickly backfilled.
    brood rearing was greatly reduced before the first cups were polished.

Hard Work

After checker boarding for so long, I forgot how much work it takes to prevent swarming.

    when cutting cells, it?s easy to overlook one.
    some colonies swarm before a virgin hatches.
    some swarm before the queen cells are sealed!
    25% of these test hives swarmed regardless of my anti-swarm efforts.

I kept the remaining hives from swarming. But I was less than happy with the results:

    broodnests were backfilled
    brood rearing was almost completely curtailed.
    only a few hives attempted to use the extra storage space in empty supers above the broodnest.

Swarmed versus Swarm Prevented Hives

The comparison between those hives that actually swarmed and those that chose not to swarm was dramatic. The swarmed hives were actively foraging, rearing brood and filling the empty supers above the broodnest with yellow sweet clover honey.

But, with one exception, the swarm prevented hives continued to linger on with backfilled broodnests, marginal brood rearing and only minor foraging activity. The yellow sweet clover flow didn?t benefit these swarm prevented colonies.
Confusion

I suspect the swarm prevented colonies couldn?t come to a consensus between preparing to swarm, or preparing for winter. And so they did nothing. This confused situation wouldn?t exist in nature. They would swarm or not. And then colony activity is vigorously focused in the proper direction. And the frequent inspections probably added to their confusion.

Could increased colony activity associated with swarming actually be a normal behavior for both the parent and the swarm? That?s what I see. While running Russian bees, I let my best colonies swarm. There wasn?t a decrease in honey production with these swarmed hives.

I suspect that most swarm prevention methods are more disruptive than thought. And I suspect that my swarmed hives were in a better situation for the main honey flow, the third week in July, than were swarm prevented hives.
Negative Impacts

It?s interesting to think about the negative impacts conventional beekeeping methods have on colony development. Most hives are run with broodnests that are too small, especially if they are migratory:

    these hives won?t have much stored pollen.
    the bees, when expanding the broodnest, rapidly reach their honey reserve limits.
    the smaller broodnest easily becomes congested.
    and is quickly backfilled.

This results in hives that need:

    frequent feeding.
    pollen substitutes.
    swarm inspections.
    and volume management.

In a northern climate, these activities must often be done when it?s cold. That negatively impacts colony development at a critical time. And sometimes the weather won?t permit any operations. Then a large hive quickly becomes a damaged hive, when the honey reserves are depleted and broodnest expansion stops.

Under such conditions, beekeepers become like busy bees, especially if their hives have returned from pollinating California almonds. The corn syrup pumps must be kept continually running. Or the bees start cannibalizing worker brood.

It?s interesting to compare a typical migratory hive with one that is over wintered and checker boarded. When the migratory hives returns from California almonds, their clusters match the best over wintered hives. But two months later, the over wintered hives are far superior to the migratory ones. They are 50% larger as they have continued brood rearing with almost three uninterrupted brood cycles.

But the migratory hives are struggling on the brink of their honey reserves and pollen resources. This results in highly interrupted brood cycles until natural resources are available at dandelion bloom. A decline in cluster size occurs when older bees die but aren?t replaced by the dandelion stimulated brood.

By the middle of June, a good migratory hive consists of two deeps ready to swarm. An over wintered/checker boarded hive consists of four deeps ready for the flow.

-D

 2 thoughts on ?Un-Checker Boarding?

    jack
    04/04/2016 at 12:41 pm

    First year beek here and following your blog with lot of curiosity. I am confused by this article, specially last section about negative impact. In all, what do you suggest for a northern backyard beekeeper as myself ? checkerboard or not ?
    Reply
    -D
    04/04/2016 at 6:41 pm

    Greetings Jack

    For a northern beekeeper, with a fully developed hive, it?s the single most important, non-disruptive management technique that a beekeeper can use.

    And it works great in the backyard as it?s fast and done once. So there?s much less hive intrusion/disruption. And fewer defensive bees and inquisitive/angry neighbors.

    Checker boarding doesn?t work well in areas where bees don?t develop a honey cap, or when a hive is too new, lacks comb, or is too small to initiate a spring population increase. In a cold climate, the extra empty space ,above the broodnest, can set freshly installed package bees back.

    The negative impacts section refers to conventional commercial, and especially migratory beekeeping management. Those guys just don?t have the luxury of trucking larger volume hives down the road and working with the bees natural propensities.

    So, they?ve developed techniques that work. But spring time is a mad rush for them with too many bees, too little feed and pollen, not enough room for honey.

    But, it?s a mad dash to feed, prevent swarming, and super for a flow. Often at times when it?s too cold, beeyards are inaccessible, and there?s not enough time in the day. Working against the bee?s nature is exhausting and produces many negative unanticipated results.

    I?m amazed that beekeepers, who don?t have to wrangle their bees that way, do so thinking it?s the best or only way. And that all that emergency spring work is natural. It isn?t. At least not for a northern beekeeper who working with his bees, checker boards his hives.

    At least that?s been my experience.

    Jack, if you try it. Let me know how it works for you.

    -D
   

[sc-bee]

Michael Bush's synopsis copied from another thread added so all will be here in one thread:

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesexperiment.htm

It would be better if you read Walt's manuscript, but I'll give a synopsis of the idea of checkerboarding here. Remember this is an oversimplification
For a bee colony:
o  Survival is the primary motivation
  - Survival of the existing colony takes priority.
  -  Bees will not do a reproductive swarm if they perceive it to jeopardize survival of the existing colony.
o  Survival of the species runs a close second.
  -  Generation of a reproductive swarm is the secondary objective of every over-wintered colony.
  -  The over-wintered colony expands the brood volume during the build-up by consumption of honey.
  -  When the colony has expanded the brood nest to the amount of reserve that they consider appropriate, they are now able to move into the swarm preparation phase.
  -  The first activity of swarm preparation is to reduce the brood volume by providing additional stores. As brood emerges, selected cells are filled with nectar or pollen.
  -  Alternating empty drawn combs above the brood nest "fools" the bees into thinking they don't have enough stores yet for swarming and causes them to expand the brood nest, giving both a bigger field force and avoiding reproductive swarming.

To put some of this another way, the colony goes through different goals at different times.

A new swarm starts out with the goal of getting established. They draw a lot of comb and try to expand the brood nest as much as possible to get established and then they go into winter preparation, which is trying to store sufficient stores for the winter. If they accomplish all of this and get over crowded they might cast a swarm to relieve the population problem.

The next year the hive will start out with the goal of reaching a safe position to cast a reproductive swarm. That means the population has to build up enough to afford to lose that many bees and the stores have to be high enough for them to lose that many foragers. Then they go into swarm preparation mode and start backfilling the brood nest. At some point, which Walt calls the Reproductive swarm cut-off, they decide they will or won't swarm.

The goal of Checkboarding is to keep them in the build-up phase until after Reproductive swarm cut-off by making them think they don't have enough stores and giving the brood nest room to expand.

If you look at your bees and your blooms and your climate, this Reproductive cut-off is usually the peak of the apple blossoms or a week after the apples START to bloom. The time to do Checkboarding is 9 weeks before that. That's about when the Elm blooms or four weeks before the Maples bloom or five weeks before the Redbud blooms or eight weeks before the apples start blooming or ten weeks before the black locust starts blooming. Hopefully you have some idea when one of those blooms in your location. NOTE: in theory these are all ways of pinpointing the same stage of vegetative development, they are just different reference points to figure it out for your location, I'm just listing all the different blooms in case you know when one of them is to calculate from.

At that time (9 weeks before Reproductive cut-off/the peak of the apple blossoms) you checkerboard. You put alternating frames of capped honey and empty drawn comb above the brood nest

[sc-bee]

I recently contacted squarepeg a Northern Alabama beek who was in contact with Walt frequently and Walt visited his yards about a dozen times. I asked square a few questions about Cbing as it was last being performed by Walt. I asked squarepeg's permission before I shared his comments to me that were in PM. Thanks for taking the time to answer squarepeg.


>SC-Bee..Message
I was just re-reading over some of Walt's old stuff and had a question you may can help with. I know the final winter config walt was using was:

Honey shallow
Honey shallow
deep brood
Pollen box shallow

My question is after manipulation the stack looks how. I know you stay two boxes ahead but are the checkered boxes considered one of the boxes ahead or just empties of drawn comb. I did not think you counted a checkered box as a box ahead. That would make the stack 6 boxes at original manipulation. I am sure I am overthinking it again. It has been a while since I used cbing and at that time I wintered with one honey super and not two.

Are you still Cbing. Thanks for any insight you can give.

Thanks


>Squarepegs reply

hi steve,

>I was just re-reading over some of Walt's old stuff and had a question you may can help with. I know the final winter config walt was using was:

Honey shallow
Honey shallow
deep brood
Pollen box shallow

this is the correct configuration walt was using going into winter. by late fall, the pollen box shallow had been pretty much emptied of pollen as the bees used it up brooding the overwintering bees. walt liked to have his deep and the 2 shallows above the deep pretty full of honey, and would feed if necessary to get them there.

HEHEHEHEHE
EHEHEHEHEH
HHHHHHHHHH
BBBBBBBBBB

this is how walt configured the hive at about late february, using the empty frames in the pollen box to checkerboard with the frames of honey to create the CBed shallows no more supers were added until the bees built up and started using the first CBed shallow (third box from the bottom of the stack) after checkerboarding in late february it might take a month or more before the bees start to work into the third box up. if you add another empty one just as the bees break into that one they still have the better part of 2 empty shallows available. . . then he would add one or two supers at a time as needed to catch honey during the main flow. when the first super just above the deep got filled with brood he moved it down to the bottom to become a pollen box which remained on the bottom until the next february.


Note: squarepeg runs mediums
>Are you still Cbing.
i do checkerboard my hives in late february here, but i have medium supers instead of shallows. i've found this to work better for me:

EHEHEHEHEH
EHEHEHEHEH
EHEHEHEHEH
BBBBBBBBBB

i haven't tried the polllen box here.
my approach with medium supers is to wait until the top box gets about half full of bees and then add the next one. the main thing is not letting them fill the top box before adding another.

i hope this helps.[/i]

[sc-bee]

SC-Bee -- Warm Weather Beekeeper My configuration the couple years I was able to get things together and not procrastinate. You can get by with checkerbaording early but not late. DO NOT get behind! Remember before white wax (or bees have wax drawing capabilities) you do not add foundation. The bees will see undrawn foundation as a ceiling. Only use brood depth drawn comb before wax drawing capabilities. Drawn comb is critical in getting started.


Entering Winter

HHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHH
BBBBBBBBBB
PPPPPPPPPP

Cherkerboard manipilation (Feb)

EEEEEEEEEEE
EHEHEHEHEH
HEHEHEHEHE
HHHHHHHHHH
BBBBBBBBBB

After the information and review while gathering inofrmation for this thread, I will do away with the full shallow of drawn empties at initial manipulation. I will add a super of empties, on top, when they break through the second super from bottom and begin working the third super from bottom (1st CBed super).


You NEVER move brood frmaes in Walt Wrights Checkeringboarding!

[Acebird]

Maybe this could be archived somewhere so whenever the term comes up it can be referred to.

[sc-bee]

If you plan to try checkerboading per Walt Wright... the time is just around the corner for many...

[tjc1]

SC-Bee - thanks so much for putting this all together in one place. I feel like I finally have a grasp of this and will try it this year.

[sc-bee]

SC-Bee - thanks so much for putting this all together in one place. I feel like I finally have a grasp of this and will try it this year.

The keys are:
- Don't start too late
-Stay ahead- two supers... when you see the beginning of nectar in the first empty.. add another
-and have enough drawn comb before bee have wax building capabilities... before wax drawing timeline the bees will see the foundation as a wall and swarm.

If you don't have enough comb to CB all hives... just CB the number you have enough drawn comb for.

[tjc1]

I guess the one concern that I have is all of that empty space over the brood when it can still get pretty chilly here. Judging from Michael's bloom times, I would want to do this around March 15 here in MA. I guess that it's too chilly to have to worry about SHB getting into all that unprotected comb?

[Acebird]

I guess the one concern that I have is all of that empty space over the brood when it can still get pretty chilly here.

As long as it stays empty space it is no big deal.  It is when the queen starts laying in the checkerboard frames without having enough bees for a cold snap to keep the brood warm.  This is why I am not in favor for checkerboarding in northern regions.  By March 15th the colony is way into expansion mode so to me that date is too late to accomplish anything.  If you wait until March 15th you might as well do a reversal but even that I see as a problem of disorganizing a colony.  They are just going to waste a couple of three days reorganizing it the way they want.  What has worked for me is just leaving them alone during the expansion mode and then make a decision to split or pile on supers around the end of March / beginning of April.  Once the colony has filled the super above their nest you can add a box of foundation above that.  Make sure to bait them into that box of foundation and then just keep going.

[squarepeg]

having empty space over the broodnest hasn't been much of a problem down here in northeast alabama.  i overwinter with the cluster in a single bottom deep and three medium supers overhead.  my nominal configuration at the end of fall is this:

e = empty comb    h = honey

e e e e e e e e e
e e h h e h h e e
h h h h e h h h h
  bottom deep

at more or less late february here, which is usually once the tree pollens have started coming in and the first rounds of brood are getting reared, i rearrange the super frames to this configuration:

e h e h e h e h e
e h e h e h e h e
e h e h e h e h e
  bottom deep

the genius of checkerboarding is that the bees naturally expand the broodnest up coming out of winter. this upward expansion is aided by the heat rising up from the cluster and the consuming of the honey stored overhead to feed brood.

the checkerboarded supers give them exactly what they need to facilitate upward expansion even more readily than if they have solid honey overhead, i.e. empty comb flanked by honey provides just what they need for that.  as the nest is expanded upward the cluster stays contiguous so there is no problem with keeping the brood warm.

last year we had a mild winter follow by a warm spring with no late frosts or extended rainy periods which allowed for incredible foraging.  i found that the checkerboarded honey was not getting consumed but was rather getting in the way of broodnest expansion.

i ended up moving the honey frames out to the side and the empty comb frames in, i.e. i opened up the the sides broodnest with empty comb.  this worked out well and i had effective swarm prevention as well as good honey yields.

[GSF]

 

[tjc1]

Doesn't checkerboarding also assume that you have frames of honey to put in the hive, as well as frames of empty comb? By March I would expect much of the honey above the brood box to have been consumed.

[Acebird]

Brood box, yes, it is below them but keep in mind that the bees consume way more honey up here in the north making more bees than just surviving winter.

[sc-bee]

Doesn't checkerboarding also assume that you have frames of honey to put in the hive, as well as frames of empty comb? By March I would expect much of the honey above the brood box to have been consumed.

You Cb what you have. It could be half a super and make up with drawn comb. If none left then you did not leave enough..

[Steve717]

Nectar management requires three or more shallow supers of empty drawn comb for each hive.  The nectar management manipulation is performed about two months prior to deciduous tree leaf out.  In the Atlanta, Georgia, United States, this is early February. 

All the details below
https://us9.campaign-archive.com/?u=fde92635173303145418ad93c&id=f09e1a9d22

[cao]

Welcome steve717  .

That was a well written and easy to understand and informative link. 

Thanks.

[little john]

The ?experts? who look for a stimulus for swarm preparations have offered some real gems. Distribution of queen pheromone(s) and day length are two that come to mind. But I think experts are overlooking the obvious. The bees don?t need a reason to start building swarm cells. The whole objective of the build-to-swarm mode is to generate that swarm. [But that's a teleological argument !  That their behaviour is stimulated by a purpose or direction towards some end-state. LJ]  Queen pheromone dilution lacks credibility in my opinion.

http://beesource.com/point-of-view/walt-wright/playing-it-safe/

Contrast the above with:

That pheromonal signal also gets diluted to some extent as the colony population grows, since it gets divvied up between more bees. Not only that, but bees may congest the broodnest by packing tightly between the combs, thus hampering the effective dispersal of the queen?s pheromones. In any case, reduction (or dilution) of queen pheromone appears to be a cue to the colony that it?s time to either supersede or swarm.

http://scientificbeekeeping.com/tag/queen-pheromones/

It's a great pity Walt Wright (an electronics engineer, and not a biologist) is dead, as I'd have liked to have discussed this particular topic with him - as the only swarms I've ever had in my own apiary have been from single-queen colonies. I have never once had a multiple-queen colony swarm, no matter how congested the hive became, even when significant bearding was taking place.

LJ

[Van, Arkansas, USA]

That?s impressive LJ.  No swarming with double queens.  The latest research indicates swarming is directly a response to bee congestion.  PubMed I.e. library of Congress.
Blessings

[little john]

Hi Van

Perhaps I should clarify that I'm not saying to anyone "don't checkerboard" - as I'm a great believer in employing ANY procedure which works. What I am saying is "don't assume that because something works in practice, that this necessarily supports the theory being proposed to explain it."

There was an IBRA publication back in 2009, "Maintenance and application of multiple queen colonies in commercial beekeeping" a copy of which can be downloaded from:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christian_Pirk/publication/229087767_Maintenance_and_application_of_multiple_queen_colonies_in_commercial_beekeeping/links/0912f50042369235dc000000/Maintenance-and-application-of-multiple-queen-colonies-in-commercial-beekeeping.pdf

Should you read this, you'll notice that reference is made to a 2004 study which involved 3-queen and 5-queen production colonies. You may also notice that not a single reference is made to any colony having swarmed, indeed the authors comment, "We have also shown that such colonies are stable and can over-winter successfully."

In the past I've also read about 2-queen systems being operated in the West, in which swarming was also noticeably absent - but I can't put my finger on these right now.  I'll try to hunt these down.

'best,
LJ

[BeeMaster2]

LJ,
What method of multiple queen hives do you use?
Do you remove the mandible?
Jim

[little john]

LJ,
What method of multiple queen hives do you use?
Do you remove the mandible?
Jim

Hi Jim
The multi-queen colonies I'm currently working with are 'seasonal set-ups' (meaning that a parent colony is over-wintered with a single-queen, with several daughter queens then raised and added to this colony during the spring). With multiple queens in the same box, these are kept apart by various forms of queen-excluder in order to prevent fighting between them. (rather than achieving this by mandible removal - something I just couldn't bring myself to do)  This arrangement is being created solely for the purpose of raising a sequence of nucleus colonies throughout the season.

In contrast, the Chinese are keeping multi-queen colonies 'all year round' in the form of production colonies.  As you mention - they're able to achieve this by surgically removing each queen's mandibles, then allowing them to live together 'side by side'.
Here's a paper which describes the method being used:
Sustainable multiple queen colonies of honey bees, Apis mellifera ligustica
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christian_Pirk/publication/229087765_Sustainable_multiple_queen_colonies_of_honey_bees_Apis_mellifera_ligustica/links/09e41500422cf515ab000000/Sustainable-multiple-queen-colonies-of-honey-bees-Apis-mellifera-ligustica.pdf

Now although they (again) don't mention any swarming having taken place, I think it's fair to assume by such omission that it's not a problem which is being encountered.  In the above paper they comment: "Multiple queen colonies with two to eight queens cohabiting, free running and laying eggs peacefully have been produced since 1999 using the methods described."

As 2-queen colonies are often reported to produce brood and honey some 3x that of a single-queen colony, the output from an 8-queen colony must be congested to the point of being 'off the scale', and which would - under normal circumstances - provoke an instant swarming response.  The presence of multiple queens without generating any swarming response must then surely be of significance ?



For the benefit of others, who may not be 'up to speed' regarding the importance of pheromones (which, being an electronics engineer and not a biologist, is something that Walt Wright would not perhaps have fully appreciated), a good place to start is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_honey_bee_pheromones

Some recent (2016) research has now increased the 'identifiable' number of compounds present within QMP (Queen Mandibular Pheromone) to 58:
"Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Queen Reproductive Potential Affects Queen Mandibular Gland Pheromone Composition and Worker Retinue Response"
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4900659/pdf/pone.0156027.pdf

By 'identifiable', I mean that 58 discrete compounds have been identified as existing within QMP - but not all have been 'identified' in the sense of having a name attached to them, nor of establishing their importance nor their function.  Scientists are still only scratching the surface of this particular area of biology.

LJ

[EaglePestEliminators]

having empty space over the broodnest hasn't been much of a problem down here in northeast alabama.  i overwinter with the cluster in a single bottom deep and three medium supers overhead.  my nominal configuration at the end of fall is this:

e = empty comb    h = honey

e e e e e e e e e
e e h h e h h e e
h h h h e h h h h
  bottom deep

at more or less late february here, which is usually once the tree pollens have started coming in and the first rounds of brood are getting reared, i rearrange the super frames to this configuration:

e h e h e h e h e
e h e h e h e h e
e h e h e h e h e
  bottom deep

the genius of checkerboarding is that the bees naturally expand the broodnest up coming out of winter. this upward expansion is aided by the heat rising up from the cluster and the consuming of the honey stored overhead to feed brood.

the checkerboarded supers give them exactly what they need to facilitate upward expansion even more readily than if they have solid honey overhead, i.e. empty comb flanked by honey provides just what they need for that.  as the nest is expanded upward the cluster stays contiguous so there is no problem with keeping the brood warm.

last year we had a mild winter follow by a warm spring with no late frosts or extended rainy periods which allowed for incredible foraging.  i found that the checkerboarded honey was not getting consumed but was rather getting in the way of broodnest expansion.

i ended up moving the honey frames out to the side and the empty comb frames in, i.e. i opened up the the sides broodnest with empty comb.  this worked out well and i had effective swarm prevention as well as good honey yields.

Checkout Harold demonstrates for Walt Wright the Checkerboard process to prevent bee swarms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brvZeuPewoM

Not sure checkboard every single super or just the two above the broodnest. Maybe you can figure out.

He used this configuration

e e e e e e e e e
e e h h e h h e e
h h h h e h h h h
  bottom deep

it isn't true checkerboarding?

[Michael Bush]

What Walt's hives looked like when he was done with a shallow of pollen on the bottom, a deep of brood next and then three shallows on top of that that were arranged like this (9 frames in each ten frame box):

ehehehehe
heheheheh
hhhhhhhhh

A short time later they have eaten through the first shallow and have encountered the checkerboarded super.  This is what he showed in his slides in a presentation by him and at least one of his articles showed the same.  I discussed most of this at length with him over the course of several days and late into the night...

[beepro]

Will this method work when I don't have the cap honey frames and just use the drawn comb to store the nectar?

Can I use a QE along with the checker boarding set up?

[Michael Bush]

>Will this method work when I don't have the cap honey frames and just use the drawn comb to store the nectar?

I don't follow.  At the time of year when this is done there is no nectar available.  Capped honey is about all there is to work with.

>Can I use a QE along with the checker boarding set up?

Walt doesn't.  I've not heard of anyone who is using an excluder with it, but someone probably is.

[Acebird]

How does a QE make any sense when there are no supers on?

[beepro]

Everything is prep in advanced, Ace. 
One day I will try it out if there isn't enough drawn comb.

[sc-bee]

As MB stated above Walt's last configuration had one solid of honey above the brood nest and CBing the next super. He was leaving a pollen box on bottom- a prepared deep- and two shallows of honey entering winter. Most of his manuscripts do not show the extra honey super. But Walt was very clear to adapt the system to your timing- area- feed needs. You may not need the extra super. If it works with one as with Steve at Coweta... don't fix what ain't broke.


The main point is to not move brood frames and checker space above. Squarepeg worked with Walt closely and you see squarepegs medium system configuration here that has worked best for him..

[sc-bee]

Nectar management requires three or more shallow supers of empty drawn comb for each hive.  The nectar management manipulation is performed about two months prior to deciduous tree leaf out.  In the Atlanta, Georgia, United States, this is early February. 

All the details below
https://us9.campaign-archive.com/?u=fde92635173303145418ad93c&id=f09e1a9d22

Steve... thanks for adding you post with pics to the thread.....

[minz]

Everything is prep in advanced, Ace. 
One day I will try it out if there isn't enough drawn comb.

Most of the timing is based off of apple bloom. Start recording your apple bloom times for prep of next years timing.
I tried it a couple of years. I thought that my climate and conditions were very similar to that of Walt's. I could not get decent results. 

[gww]

minz
Can you refreash me, was it done about three weeks before apple or at apple bloom?
Thanks
gww

[Acebird]

I lost track of the manuscript I had but I recall it being 6 weeks.  You are looking for two or three rounds of brood to pack the nest.  Up here that could be 2-3 feet of snow doing hive manipulations and temperature swings from 60 to 20.  I have said this to Walt.  There are certain areas of the globe where this will work well and in other areas where it could be a disaster with varying results from year to year.

[gww]

Yes ace. I keep getting mixed up in my mind on all the things I have read and know mel (the mad splitter) has time lines to start and so does walt.  Six weeks would put me in the middle of feb and like you, it could go either way on snow or warmth.  Last year it was real warm but then still a big freeze in early april.  I don't have drawn comb but figure the time lines would also fit with opening the brood nest if the bees could keep it warm.  To me opening the brood nest means some (lots) empty space has to be added to the top of the hive or I have to add it on bottom due to not having drawn comb.

Thanks for the time line.
Cheers
gww

[Acebird]

It is important to keep in mind that Walt's checkerboarding is not a brood nest manipulation at least at the time it is done.  It becomes part of the brood nest when the bees expand into it.  For my area it is a moving target because my bees tend to move up through the honey supers and provide the space they need to raise brood anyway.  I don't know what I would find in my hives if I actually tried to do this 6 weeks before apple bloom up here.  The thing is I am never going to try it.

[gww]

Ace
I did realize that walt didn't mess with the brood nest.  I am just looking at what he is doing to forestall swarming and knowing that I don't have drawn comb to work with for his proceedure and so I am going to experment with what I do have cause swarming beat me last year cause I did nothing early enough.  Gotta work with what you have.  Last year I knew what to do but waited too long for fear of chilling the brood.  This year I may try a few moves early and see if I do chill the brood. Waiting for the first 70 degree day and average 50 degree nights did not work.  I don't have to do them all but am going get close to walts time line and mix it with opening the brood nest and see what it gets me.  If I had drawn comb, I would just try a little checker boarding but have to work from where I am.
Thanks for keeping me honest though.
Cheers
gww

[Acebird]

Checkerboarding is not the only solution  to swarm prevention otherwise we in the north would be doomed.

[minz]

I use the gravenstien apples as my date of april 18th. Checker board date for me is March 1. The idea of checker boarding is arranging the overhead stores to a point that the hive will think it is in trouble (every other honey frame will be open) That will make the hive try to store honey to fill it up before starting swarm prep.  It is done without stealing honey or stopping upward movement.  You do not mess with the brood nest but the overhead solid honey dome. 

[Van, Arkansas, USA]

Question: how does a person control small hive beetle with all the empty space, that is every other waxed comb frame is empty in 2-3 supers above brood?

[Acebird]

I don't know but are SHB's prevalent during the winter dearth?  If they are is your winter actually a dearth?

[Acebird]

The idea of checker boarding is arranging the overhead stores to a point that the hive will think it is in trouble (every other honey frame will be open) That will make the hive try to store honey to fill it up before starting swarm prep.  It is done without stealing honey or stopping upward movement.  You do not mess with the brood nest but the overhead solid honey dome.

When Walt coined the phrase he did so with the intention of expanding brood not filling in empty frames with honey.  Other people use the term as you say to fill in honey.  It adds confusion when you mix this idea with what Walt was trying to do.

[eltalia]

Question: how does a person control small hive beetle with all the empty space, that is every other waxed comb frame is empty in 2-3 supers above brood?

You don't, or should not have to Van, if the manoeuvres are done with colonies at critical mass (CM).
When you open a working honey super you will see bees on the walls, seemingly doing SFA, there
may be some also hanging around the ears of the frames. These bees are all flight enabled, allbeit
they need reason to do so. I am not going to list all their roles just the one that says "stand and
deliver or die". As SHB cannot deposit nectar they are dead meat.

Not at all pouring water over the thread but you guys should know none of this is new news, despite
Walts 'discovery'... it has been SOP here in Aussie for as long as my living memory runs to. There are
two stages to the frame switches the first being used to move honey stores up from the extents of the
brood chamber, the second to get the honey super/s filled out... and it is here amongst all this that
one chooses the time to include and exclude a QX.
Walt's method goes into elaborate niceities, maybe 'cos of the use of mediums, dunno... never used
them, never will. The actual principle is very simple with @minz nailing it in one go;
 "The idea of checker boarding is arranging the overhead stores to a
point that the hive will think it is in trouble"

Bill

[minz]

When Walt coined the phrase he did so with the intention of expanding brood not filling in empty frames with honey.  Other people use the term as you say to fill in honey.  It adds confusion when you mix this idea with what Walt was trying to do.

here is the actual paragraph from his manuscript:
SELF IMPOSED LIMIT The over-wintered colony expands the brood volume during the build-up by consumption of honey.  During this period the colony trades stored honey for population to produce the reproductive swarm.  They do not consume all the stored honey.  They save some.  To use all the honey in this effort would put the colony at risk of starvation in the event of an extended period of non-flying weather or nectar dearth.  Weather in late winter is unpredictable.  Colony survival dictates that they maintain the safety reserve of honey/nectar through the swarming season.  Although the amount of safety reserve varies from colony to colony, it is roughly equivalent to a shallow super of honey.  It is interesting that the amount is similar for different sized hives.  Both the story and a half and the two and one-half story leave the top shallow super of honey unopened, if field forage is available.  However, it is a reserve.  They will dip into this reserve if needed. When the colony has expanded the brood nest to the amount of reserve that they
Nectar Management by Walt Wright Copywrite  2000 - 2005                   -  - 10
consider appropriate, they have increased population to the safety limit.  They are now able to move into the swarm preparation phase.   Expanding brood volume to the safety limit is the first step in the swarm process.  It can be seen that weaker colonies do not reach this limit and do not entertain swarm ambition.  (Colony survival has priority.)  Brood nest expansion does not stop until this self-imposed limit is reached.  Actually reaching the limit, and stopping expansion can be viewed as initiating swarm preparation.  It is not fair to call it the ?cause? of swarming, but it would be fairly accurate to call it the swarm stimulus.  The actual cause is the colony motivation to reproduce

[Acebird]

Walt had many ideas and concepts with logical explanations for his concepts.  Walt also believed that bees would magically change from swarm mode to survival mode and yet you will hear witness of hives swarming in the fall.  What safety limit is there in the fall?  You will also hear witness of bees swarming from a nuc box all the way up to 8-9 box hive.  How could they possibly have the same safety limit?  Some swarms have been known to fill three deeps and others just a hand full.
Bees are not computer programmers with a set program to follow for their existence.  They are high stakes gamblers that can win big, just make it, or die.
Walt had some success with his checkerboarding in his area.  As time went on he changed things.  I suspect because each year was different and he was chasing the variables.
I had two copies of his manuscript.  One I gave away and the other I can't find now.  For certain the sole purpose for checkerboarding was to expand the broodnest faster then what would happen naturally so you could take advantage of flows netting you more honey.  If you did not provide the space for nectar storage at the right time the hive was guaranteed to swarm.  Apparently in his area he had some success.  No one that I have heard of in the commercial category does this and no one that I have heard of does this up here.  Some beeks do "checkerboard" top supers to draw frames out.  That is not Walt's checkerboarding technique for nectar management.

[sc-bee]

If you look at reply #1 Dennis is in Wyoming, is that not cold enough for you. And as far as timing being apple bloom, well that depends on where you are located and when apple blooms. Walt had kept records and new that for him apple bloom was approximately 6 weeks before white wax. WHITE WAX is the key and count back 6 weeks. If you can tie it to a bloom then that helps.

As far as Walt chasing the variables, not sure what you mean? He worked on a system for years and made refinements as he went. Finding NM was purely an accident of studying swarm prevention. He started looking at two deeps and moved form there. Finally ended up with a deep and two shallows of honey into winter. And then he added the pollen box at bottom which he states has nothing to do with NM but can not hurt.

As far as shb, I asked Walt. He had no issue with shb and the system in Tn. The shb should not be in a laying period at the time of the CB manipulation. And by time they are, the hive population should  be booming. As an insurance I would harvest full supers in shb prone areas and not leave them on the stack.

[Acebird]

As far as Walt chasing the variables, not sure what you mean?

Honeybees are not consistent.  I don't think any insect is.  They mass produce with enough DNA to cover any variable nature throws at them.  If you try to write a process on how to keep bees you will run into exception that don't work.  Checkerboarding as Walt has described it is one of those processes.

[sc-bee]

It is that time folks at least here in the South.... BUMP........