This is my 3rd Winter as a beekeeper. This is my first year attempting to overwinter nucs on top of production colonies Palmer/Webster style. I started my nucs too late in the season (August 24th), and caught some late season swarms as well. As a result I am overwintering many very small clusters and simply seeing if I can make it work. I've lost 2 of 8 small colonies to date.
What has me confused is this: All the production colonies that have nucs on top of them are still clustering in the lower deep or lower mediums. They cannot be seen when the inner cover is lifted, but an ear on the box confirms that they are alive and sound fine. All the production colonies that do not have nucs on top of them are clustering in the upper deep/medium and in some cases, have been since the start of winter. There is only 1 colony without a nuc on it that is still in the lower super and not visible below the inner cover.
Thoughts? Any help would be appreciated.
Here are some photos of the colonies. You can see which have nucs on top and which don't. I also have pics of the colonies that are clustering at the top.
http://picasaweb.google.com/shawnbernard/WinterBeesJan2010#
What has me confused is this: All the production colonies that have nucs on top of them are still clustering in the lower deep or lower mediums. They cannot be seen when the inner cover is lifted, but an ear on the box confirms that they are alive and sound fine. All the production colonies that do not have nucs on top of them are clustering in the upper deep/medium and in some cases, have been since the start of winter. There is only 1 colony without a nuc on it that is still in the lower super and not visible below the inner cover.
Thoughts? Any help would be appreciated.
Here are some photos of the colonies. You can see which have nucs on top and which don't. I also have pics of the colonies that are clustering at the top.
http://picasaweb.google.com/shawnbernard/WinterBeesJan2010#