[laketrout]

Finally got my reversals done about a week ago all queens were in the top box as usual for this time of year , I know its late but the weather here has been crazy and now i see weather coming with night time lows below freezing , my question is once I get the queen and any brood with her down to the bottom can they keep the brood warm enough , I always feel like i should put a buffer on the bottom like a box with empty drawn comb so there not right on the same level as the bottom entrance any ideas .

 

[Robert Holcombe]

I call the "buffer", a medium in my case, Grand Central Station in summer and my water condenser / diffusion sump in winter. I never rotate and my deep brood chamber is on top of Grand Central. I have a fixed brood chamber arrangement summer and winter; QE above and supers or feeders or ?? I also implement a few other Contrarian mehtods.

 

[bushpilot]

Look up "slatted rack." I use them on all my hives, and am convinced it helps summer and winter.

 

[laketrout]

I thought about a slatted rack for this issue but haven't used one in 5 years and figured it was just another piece of equipment that isn't really necessary .

I will try putting a empty box of drawn comb on the bottom and see what they do with it

 

[Jack Grimshaw]

When I reversed this year,I left the 1 1/2 pink foam winter insulation on for that reason.The Q moved right up,even with freezing temps.The heat from the cluster below was trapped against the insulation.

 

[Clayton Huestis]

I will try putting a empty box of drawn comb on the bottom and see what they do with it

That's what I did on my overwintered singles. Mostly to provide a barrier from drafts so the queen will lay to the bottom of the frames. With my carni x Russian genetics bees don't seem convinced that winter is over. Even with pollen sub and open feeding they seem to be holding back.