[BPKeeper]

This year was a colder than usual Winter (even in Florida!). I switched out solid bottoms to use wire ventilated bottom boards for mites. I didn't seal the bottom not thinking. The queens moved up to the top (heat rises I guess) and despite having some close to 90 degree days already, they are still laying up high during the citrus bloom.

They are laying in the bottom intended brood box too, and I've separated a few with excluders. I need to take off honey in next few weeks and not sure what to do? I like to not use excluders and let the queen and the hive have the next super for them and use beego when I take the honey off the hive.

Any ideas? I want to minimize killing the queens.

 

[merince]

You will probably have to re-arrange the boxes. Chances are that both boxes have brood in the middle frames and honey on the sides.

You can re-arrange the nest, so that the bottom box is all brood. You can add a few empty frames in between the brood frames which will entice the queen to lay in them - they usually cannot resist new wax. You can gently shake the frames from the top box so the queen ends up on the bottom.

 

[WBVC]

I used sbb and simply missed putting the bottom piece in one hive. It is much colder here than Florida and I was more upset about my oversight than the bees were.