[brazosdog02]

Im going to transition to all mediums eventually but for now, my hives in Texas use a single deep hive body and I put on a medium super as needed for additional brood and honey. My bees are a year old, when will they begin to use the first medium super as a 'brood nest' instead of simply storing all honey in it? Will they make that decision?

 

[jmgi]

I would think this year for sure the queen will lay in the medium pretty well.

 

[brazosdog02]

Cool. Ill watch and add supers as needed.

 

[ChuckReburn]

I'm going to all mediums as well. Every hive I've inspected so far is out of the bottom box and up in the medium,

 

[Vance G]

They will possibly move up into it but they will still probably be mainly brood rearing at the bottom of the hive. If your weather was cold enough that they ended up clustered against the lid, it would happen reliably in late winter/early spring. If they are down in the deep now, that is where the brood nest will start or continue and the brood nest will only expand into the medium if and when conditions call for the brood nest to expand.

 

[jmgi]

If not restricted by an excluder, bees will move the brood nest upwards from the lower box to the upper as soon as they need it, or because of their preference to not have brood near the entrance, they may move up higher anyway.