[ajs32]

so three hives
#1 survivor going strong two deeps and a super, second deep is about 70 lbs of honey, they are barely touching the super though
#2 and #3 are form purchased nucs, #2 doing well but not using the second deep very much and #3 is lagging, with a single deep and a super whic they are not using. i took a frame of open brood from #1 and put it in #3 then switched the positions of hives #1 and #3. Questions:

1. i want to try wintering in single deeps, i am in elmira corning ny area, for #1 i was going to shake the bees from second deep where most capped honey is, then place excluder between till brood hatched out in hopes of the remaining space will be filled with honey, remove that and replace with a shallow super.
does this sound plausible or would it be too disruptive this time of year?

anyone else in upper nys that winters in single deeps?

 

[Bens-Bees]

Is there even enough room in a single deep for all the food they'll need to overwinter in a single deep in NY? I wouldn't think there would be.

 

[mike haney]

"...does this sound plausible or would it be too disruptive this time of year?"
that should work but i'd urge you to join your local bee club to get the inside dope on wintering there. i'm a bunch south, in ky, and i use 2 deeps. its hard to go into winter with too many bees/stores and easy too not have enough.
good luck,mike

 

[Peter]

I'm in MA. You'd come out of winter with starved bees if you tried it here. Reckon to need a 100lb+ hive to overwinter.

 

[Maine_Beekeeper]

I winter in two deeps plus a medium

hope that answers your question

(single deep in NY is not enough for bees to survive winter,)

That said, I also winter 5 frame deep nucs and even have wintered a couple of 5 frame medium nucs

It is all about cluster size and organization.

Don't expect a large cluster to size down to a small cavity - it needs to be natural to them

Best to you and your bees
-E.

 

[ajs32]

thanks everyone...think i wont mess around then, was trying to figure out a way to increase honey yield without harming the bees, they just dont seem to want to move up into the super in the strong hive, and the nucs dont seem to want to use the drawn comb i put in the boxes...could we have a derth going on here? i assume hot dry weather is sub optimal for nectar production

 

[PeteS]

I'm not even thinking about a honey crop this year. My colony is not that great one hive body with 3/4 frames used and upper hive body with 3 frames of honey (syrup) on top. My mentor has said to keep feeding to build up their stores for winter they need 90-100 lbs to survive. So no honey this year which is OK, I just want them to make thru the winter.
Regards,
Pete