[pdave]

Just checking to make sure I am not going to have a problems. A little history here. This is my second year with this hive It was started with 1 deep with plastic frames. The middle 6 were drawn out and the brood was on these frames, when I added the second box. I used a medium and wax foundation. The bees moved up into the medium and drew it out without drawing the outer 4 plastic frames in the bottom deep. When the middle 6 were drawn out and had brood in them I added a third box that was a medium with wax foundation. They drew the center 6 frames and had some stores in them.

Going into winter I left the configuration alone and added a 8 lb. candy board with a top entrance. About January most of the candy board was gone so I used the mountain camp method and added 4 lbs of dry sugar. They ate most of this then the beginning of Feb., I added a pollen patty.

I did a complete check on 3/21 and found the cluster in the top box as expected. The center 6 frames were completely filled with capped brood and the was about 2 frames of honey/bee bread left. The lower 2 boxes were completely empty of stores. The brood was completely covered with nurse bees and there were bees in all the boxes. There was still some dry sugar left. I added a pollen patty and about 2lbs of dry sugar. The bees were bringing in a lot of pollen.

I was worried about the queen not having enough room to lay so I went ahead and moved the top box to the bottom and placed the deep above it, followed by the second medium which was completely empty of stores. Today I went out and did another inspection. I found about half the capped brood that was there on 3/21 hatched out. The there were larvea in various stages layed in most of the hatched out cells. I was able to find the queen. I added 1:1 in a top feeder.

What concerns me is they are storing honey/bee bread in the center of the deep above the brood nest. Do I have to worry about the queen running out of space in the bottom box and then not being able to move up? I won't be able to manipulate because I don't have any drawn deep frames so the only thing I could do is move the top medium down. I really don't want to risk a swarm. Any advice is welcomed.

 

[Tenbears]

You are fine they will store in the center box while the queen lays in the lower, that is exactly what you want them to do. when the middle box becomes full they will store above that. you want the bees to go into winter in the bottom. with stores above them. you are in good shape. I would however get with two deep hive bodies, or 3 mediums. so you can manipulate the brood chambers.

 

[MattDavey]

That hive has way too much empty space and the bees are likely having problems with heating the cluster.

Bees typically store pollen in cells that have been used for brood in past.

I would remove the deep for now (even though they are starting to use it) until they are using several frames in both medium boxes.
You may want to put 4 of the frames they are using into the second medium so that they are directly above the other frames they are using. They then have room to expand sideways to fill up the two mediums.

Are there still the two frames undrawn in the medium box they currently occupy?

 

[Vance G]

I agree with the too much room concerns! If you are not bothered by brood in mediums, I would either remove the deep and store it or put it on the bottom. I would start periodically moving undrawn medium frames in the middle of the box with brood one at a time and get them all drawn that way. If the queen moves down and starts laying in the deep, do the same. When two frames of brood are capped, put an undrawn frame in between one at a time. The bees will immediately draw it out. The queen may start laying in the foundation as soon as the bees start drawing it out. When all are being drawn, add a super.

 

[pdave]

Thanks for the advise. When I got into this last year, I purchased deep hive boxes with the intent of using mediums for the supers. After doing some more research, I have been going back and forth on keeping the brood chambers in deeps and using mediums for supers or going all mediums. I think I want to go all mediums but don't want to throw away the money I have in the deeps. I'm thinking from a ease of management standpoint, now would be the time to cut my loss and just go to all mediums.

So if I remove the Deep now, what should I do with the 3-4 frames that they have begun to store in?

 

[Vance G]

First, if you have a queen excluder, place the deep on your bottom board, put the excluder on top and your two mediums above that. The bees will rob those frames out fairly quickly. When they are dry, set the rip fence on your table saw to 6 1/4 and cut the bottom off those plastic frames. Then set the rip fence to 6 5/8 and cut the bottom off the deep. get the 6 1/4" plastic frames drawn as I suggested you draw the other outside frames. After they are drawn tight between two regular frames they will be stiffened right up.

 

[MattDavey]

I would put the deep above a queen excluder with the two mediums below.

Otherwise the drones can not get out and will die in the excluder. It also makes it easy to remove the deep once the bees have robbed it out, because it is on the top.