Very little brood, normal for fall or a problem?

**Aerindel** · 09-26-2012, 05:05 PM

So we've been in a pretty bad dearth here for over a month and I've been feeding 2:1 for the last couple weeks to top off my hives honey stores (Each hive is composed of 3 medium 10-frames)

All the drones where kicked out three weeks ago, temps have been in the low seventies during the day, and forties at night, it hasn't rained at all for about seven weeks.

This was my second weakest hive, about three weeks ago I combined it with my weakest hive.

So I've noticed over the past couple days that it hasn't been taking syrup as fast as my other hives. Today I did an inspection, results as follows.

Top box, 6 frames capped honey, 2 frames uncapped syrup, one frame undrawn, one frame drawn but almost entirely empty.

Middle box, 9 frames capped honey, one frame partially drawn.

Bottom box, 3 frames honey and mixed pollen, four frames of dark comb with mixed pollen and uncapped syrup and three frames mixed honey, pollen and brood with the brood ares only about 4" in diameter in each frame. I did not see the queen, but I saw eggs, uncapped brood and capped brood on each one of the brood frames.

So it seems apparent that the bees have been back filling the brood nest with syrup, I took the empty(but drawn) frame from the top box and added it to the edge of the brood area in the bottom box to give them more room down there and removed the feeder.

What I am wonder is if this a normal brood reduction for winter or do I have a problem and if I did the right thing by moving down the empty frame and removing the feeder?

**jadell** · 09-26-2012, 07:58 PM

I would have done the same thing. I don't think you have a problem unless the queen has nowhere to lay. You can probably stop feeding if they are up to weight. I might have even moved all empty frames from above to the outsides of the bottom box. That way they have nothing but stores overhead.