Honey in 2nd Brood Chamber = Honey Bound?

4637 Views 16 Replies 9 Participants Last post by Peter, Jul 6, 2010

mthammer11

Discussion Starter · Jul 6, 2010

Hi All,

If the second brood chamber of a hive is 100% capped honey, is it a potential problem? The first deep brood chamber looks very healthy and is a great mixture of eggs, brood, honey and pollen. This is a fairly strong hive that has a couple of honey supers on it. The bees are continuing to draw comb and store honey. Can I count on the bees to move honey around and make room should they need the space in the second brood chamber? Should I remove 3 or 4 frames of honey? Thanks for any advice!

Matt

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Fuzzy

· #2 · Jul 6, 2010

Don't know a thing about your weather or bloom. Around here that is a surefire recipe for swarming. The bees will not move it. If it were my hive, in my area, I would remove all the frames of honey, spin them out today, and put the empties back on the hive.

Fuzzy

mthammer11

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 6, 2010

Thanks Fuzzy. Interesting you say that. This is a hive that swarmed, re-queened itself and is now back in business. Anyone else have an opinion?

peacekeeperapiaries

· #4 · Jul 6, 2010

I dont count on the bees moving it around, if they store it, they leave it. I would lean towards providing them some more space. Either move it up and give them some foundation/or drawn comb, or extract and give them the empty drawn comb. Here in FL they will be preparing for swarm soon with only a single to lay in. Just my 2 cents things might be different up there.

mthammer11

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jul 6, 2010

OK thanks. I was leaning towards giving them foundation, but was thinking of honey stores for the winter. We should have a pretty good honey flow coming here in July (soybeans), so I think they'll draw it out well. You think I should leave them any or move it all?

Matt

walking bird

· #6 · Jul 6, 2010

Move it all. You say the brood box has plenty of stores, so there's clearly been a great flow and they've built up surplus they don't need (given the upcoming July flow you mention). Take the honey, give them a new box. They'll either expand into it or fill it with more honey--- either way, it's a good thing!

mthammer11

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jul 6, 2010

You guys are great. Thanks!

Matt

mike haney

· #8 · Jul 6, 2010

Matt, have you ever experienced a honey flow from soybeans?
thanks,mike

mthammer11

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jul 6, 2010

No I haven't. I am a first year beekeeper. A local, very experienced commercial beekeeper that I got my bees from told me that the strongest flow in this area typically comes in July - largely because of soybeans. The local fields (surrounding my neighborhood) are all planted with soybeans, so I am hoping for some serious honey.

Have you?

Matt

mike haney

· #10 · Jul 6, 2010

the hybreds they plant here dont produce nectar

mthammer11

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jul 6, 2010

Interesting. He did say that is was a specific type of soybean, planted late in the season and often times after winter wheat is harvested.

honeyman46408

· #12 · Jul 6, 2010

I vote with "peacekeeper" give them room put on supers.

greenbeek

· #13 · Jul 6, 2010 (Edited)

mthammer11 said:
No I haven't. I am a first year beekeeper. A local, very experienced commercial beekeeper that I got my bees from told me that the strongest flow in this area typically comes in July - largely because of soybeans. The local fields (surrounding my neighborhood) are all planted with soybeans, so I am hoping for some serious honey.

Have you?

Matt

Matt,

As a 2nd year beek, I can't answer your original question re: honey bound brood chamber ... BUT as a lifelong gardener, I CAN tell you that your "very experienced commercial beekeeper", until very recently, had good-ole, regular, garden-variety soybeans to get that "strongest flow" from. The predominant type of soybean planted nowadays is called "RoundUp Ready" (RR for short), meaning they are genetically engineered to *survive* aerial spraying of Monsanto's RoundUp, which is a systemic, non-selective herbicide (read: was field of green living plants, now brown dead, toxic waste site - except for the soybeans!)

So the question you have to ask yourself is: are my bees getting safe, healthy nectar from RR Soybeans or ...

:ws

Now Monsanto wants to get FDA/USDA approval for growing their genetically modified Alfalfa! That, my friends, calls for a DOUBLE

:ws :ws

Peace,
Joseph

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mthammer11

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jul 6, 2010

Interesting. Thanks Joseph.

clintonbemrose

· #15 · Jul 6, 2010

You could use a capping scratcher on the capped honey in the second hive body and the bees should move the honey up into the suppers.
Clint

mthammer11

Discussion Starter · #16 · Jul 6, 2010

That's an interesting thought - especially since some of the honey looks like it might be crystallized. Anyone ever done this?

Peter

· #17 · Jul 6, 2010

mthammer11 said:
That's an interesting thought - especially since some of the honey looks like it might be crystallized. Anyone ever done this?

I'm in the middle of attempting to do this but having it move the othere way.
3 boxes of collapsed duragilt in 3 hives, Scratched the cells that weren't broken and have the boxes above the inner cover. Hoping trhey will move the honey down into the new NON duragilt foundation that iv'e replaced the collapsed stuff with.

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