Joined
·
2,659 Posts
All things considered, I think that I would nadir the hives with a box with drawn comb if you have it, but others who are more familiar with your location and who keep bees in a manner more similar to you than I do would likely give better advice. I’d think that bees in your location with one eight frame deep that is that full of brood would need more room for winter stores.What I'd like to do is add a second deep so I can have more brood resources come January/Febuary for splits with new queens (this is historically when I start seeing large amounts of drones). Would it be too early to do this? My concern is stretching them out too thin to where they can't properly manage the hive and begin shrinking, instead of growing. Current temps are highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s. Winter will get down in the low 40s with highs in the 60s.
My other concern, which comes up every year, is moisture. I'm coastal and we get a lot of rain and very high humidity levels. I've switched to the Mann Lake Wintering inner covers and plan on keeping dry sugar on top of the hives, insulating the top, and maybe adding a medium full of burlap or cotton insulation to help keep down the moisture in the hive. Anything else that's been tested and proven? Cover the tops with signboard?