Too late to build?

[rflegel]

Greetings all!

I'm on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington state. My bees had two deep brood chambers so full of honey many combs were sagging from the top box downward to the lower box. I carefully cleaned up what I could of the mess and decided to add a shallow super with new frames seperated with the queen excluder. Am I taking a risk adding the super so late in the season? I am feeding with a hive top feeder. My thought was to give the colony new foundation to build out while the weather is OK.

What are your thoughts?

[Sundance]

I did something simular 2 weeks ago here. But my bees were "boiling over" and needed room.

How is your bee population??

How are your winters temp wise? My impression is your winters are fairly mild. At least compared to our here smile.gif .

What is your fall flow like?

If its boiling over, and a flow will be going on for a bit, then why not??

Others with more experience may have a differend opinion.

[Michael Bush]

I always leave them room until a killing freeze and no blooms. They may need somewhere to put the fall flow.

[Phoenix]

brood chambers so full of honey many combs were sagging from the top box downward to the lower box. No matter how full the comb, they would not sag if the hive were properly ventilated. Sagging is caused by the internal temperatures of the hive rising above the wax melting threshold, not necessarily the weight.

Want to talk about full comb, I have run 8 foundationless frames in a 10 frame deep box as a honey super, those frames hold a lot of weight. As long as I provide an exhaust port in the top of the hive, the comb never collapses.

Am I taking a risk adding the super so late in the season? I don't see the risk in question. The only risk you would be taking is the risk of swarming if you didn't give them room. The only downfall I see is them putting up more honey and building more comb, and I hate when that happens. :D

My thought was to give the colony new foundation to build out while the weather is OK. Good thinkin'...

[rflegel]

Thank you all for the information. The population is high, the flow is OK and the winters are mild. I'm thinking my hive is well vented. I have a slatted bottom board, the entrance is wide open and the hive is located at the woods edge with sunlight only part of the day. I think most of the sagging was probably extra built comb between the top and bottom deeps. It is also curious to me that the bees are building the comb cells way out which makes it difficult to remove the first frame for inspections. This is my first colony ever and I have a lot to learn. i have lost two queens this year. The first died right off and the second just disapeared, or was squished? I now have a queen from Olympic Apiaries and am hopeful for the colony to winter over.

Anyway, Thanks!!

[Phoenix]

I'm thinking my hive is well vented. What do your bees think? ;)
Repeat after me... Hot air rises... Hot air holds moisture... :D

[chief]

rflegel,

I to am new to beekeeping and live in down from you in Auburn. What kinds of flows are you experiencing at the moment? I haven’t been able to tell if they have much coming in or not right now. Also how do you like your queen from Olympic Apiaries? I've heard mixed reviews about them but have been considering them for some splits I want to do next year.

[chief]

rflegel

I just got a message back from beebarf and they said that you can expect a decent flow in this area sometime around the end of sep or early oct. Just thought I would pass that on. For the record my bees havent touched the undrawn foundation they have for a few weeks now even while I have been feeding.

[Robert Hawkins]

<It is also curious to me that the bees are building the comb cells way out which makes it difficult to remove the first frame for inspections.>

Don't take this personal but that's entirely your fault. If you push the ten frames together before you close up, they can't do that. then when you open it, push the first frame away from the others, plenty of room cuz it'll almost hold eleven in a ten framer, then you can remove the first frame and spread the rest.

Hawk

[Michael Bush]

>It is also curious to me that the bees are building the comb cells way out which makes it difficult to remove the first frame for inspections.

And sometimes they build burr no matter what you do.