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Author Topic: Is this long box organization right?  (Read 2349 times)

Offline Bob Wilson

  • Queen Bee
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  • Posts: 1100
  • Gender: Male
Is this long box organization right?
« on: April 30, 2021, 08:28:33 am »
This is the organization of one of my long langstroths (32 deep frames). In some ways it seems like a double deep brood box with another deep super. The partial frame combs (1/2, 2/3) are new wax, and that tends to be where the eggs are. They are new empty, foundationless frames I have been inserting. All the empty comb towards the back of the box is the result of my consistently opening the broodnest, and the frames are migrating to the back as the brood emerged? but instead of filling those, the bees still seem to be backfilling.
Questions:
1. Is it right that the eggs are scattered in batches throughout the hive, over 19 frames.
2. The (pollen, heavy nectar) frames feel heavy like a honey. Is this backfilling or nurse bee pantry staples? Is it becoming a honey barrier for the queen?
3. Why hasn?t she kept the broodnest intact, and close to the entrance?
4. Should I rearrange the box myself, grouping all the eggs and capped brood into a broodnest at the entrance?
5. How can I ?encourage? the bees to store all this heavy, thickening nectar in the back of the hive where the empty comb is?
6. Would even more empty frames inserted into the broodnest have encouraged an intact broodnest? I was adding a couple frames a week, between half formed comb frames and full frames of capped brood, in almost every opening I could find. (full,half,full,empty,full,half,full,empty)
I appreciate any advice.

ENTRANCE
-pollen
-1/2 frame- nectar
-pollen, HEAVY nectar
-1/2 frame- nectar
-pollen, HEAVY nectar
-pollen
-pollen honey, EGGS
-pollen, HEAVY nectar
-pollen, HEAVY nectar
-2/3 frame, capped brood, EGGS
-capped brood, pollen
-HONEY, nectar
-1/2 frame EGGS
-capped brood, larva
-capped brood
-1/2 frame, QUEEN, EGGS
-capped brood
-capped brood
-2/3 frame- EGGS
-honey, nectar
-empty comb, a little nectar
-empty comb, a little nectar
-empty comb, a little nectar
-empty comb, a little nectar
-empty comb, a little nectar
-empty comb, a little nectar
-empty comb, a little nectar
-empty comb, honey
-empty comb, honey
-empty comb

Offline FloridaGardener

  • Field Bee
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  • Posts: 548
Re: Is this long box organization right?
« Reply #1 on: May 20, 2021, 08:29:18 pm »
IDK Bob...I have a Top Bar hive... I only go on the principles that:
 
1) There's still a reserve space of 5-6 bars at the back, at all times.

2) If there's a LOT of brood, I'll place the top of a Lang frame on top of a bar of capped brood and use a drywall screw to fix the bars together.
 Don't care about sides and bottom.  I add it to a hive that needs a boost.  But then, I aim to sell some nucs not so much extract the honey.  I guess I never let this colony get massive.

However:

3) If they're drawing white wax with nectar in it, I'll put it to the back, behind open nectar/honey, so hopefully the Queen won't get into it and lay brood.

4) And when there's white wax with capped honey, I use a kitchen knife to cut it off and drop it into tupperware. :tongue:
And they will clean it up and draw it out again. 

It's "goose and the golden-egg" idea.

 

anything