The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Bees & Beekeeping => Topic started by: HesterF on April 12, 2014, 02:27:13 pm
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My saga started on another thread but I'm now down to one combined hive with one brood box. I took the second brood box off today and have brushed all the bees into the first brood/super. There is a ton of brood in the bottom box and they have some supplies plus brilliant foraging at the moment so I hope all will be well with my remaining colony.
Anyhow, in the box I've removed is a small amount of capped drone brood and lots of food - much of it uncapped. I'm happy to sacrifice the drone brood - the queen is laying some down below anyway. But I don't know what to do with the frames. I know capped honey lasts so I can keep it back until next winter but uncapped won't so how do I clean out the frames? And do I just wait for the drones to come out or do I clean them out in some way too? I don't have enough room to put them into the remaining brood box to be cleaned up - there are nine frames in there with brood and the remaining two are full of food which is their only back up at the moment.
H
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I would have left the second brood box above an empty super, the bee's may have moved the honey down. Then once the drones emerge and honey is moved take the brood box off. Although you do need to visit to let the drones out as they get trapped above a queen excluder if you use them.
It may be too late to save the drone brood depending on how long it has been off the hive, but you could replace the brood box above a couple of supers and let the bee's clear the stores.
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Some of the food in the brood box will have been from syrup fed in the autumn - that's why I didn't want it moved into the super. That hive also had varroa problems so I'm hoping by sacrificing drone, I might have cleared some varroa too. Is there no other way of clearing out frames except getting the bees to do it? At the moment they're adding to rather than clearing!
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If you've got access to an extractor, spin it out. I'd freeze it until you need feed next time.
Then put the sticky frames back for the bees to clean up the scraps.
Drawn comb is precious stuff.
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Put a frame above the crown board with a very small opening and the bees will take any stores from it.