How to know when to add another brood box
I have just started keeping bees and have two hives. I am presently using two brood chambers plus a shallow super for extracting honey. I have noticed that during the honeyflow they filled the top brood chamber much more quickly than the honey super above it. Even though I had occasion to replace about three full combs from the brood chamber with foundation they still filled those more quickly than the above honey super. I have noticed, too, that the queen did not lay in the top brood chamber, but that it was filled with honey only.
What I would like to know is, is it necessary to have two brood chambers, or is there any advantage in doing so? It seems to me that the extra brood chamber could be replaced with honey supers and thus I would be able to extract that much more honey. I would very much appreciate you answering this question for me.
In your particular area (Bahamas), a second brood chamber would not be needed. It is a common practice in many tropical areas to use only one brood chamber.
In localities where the honeyflow is constant, the queen will usually not lay as many eggs at one time as queens do where the honeyflow is shorter and more intense. In northern areas the stimulation of the increasingly longer days causes the queen to start laying many more eggs as the days do get longer. Thus, by the time the honeyflow has started, the colony has built up to a tremendous population and is able to take advantage of the intense, but comparatively short honeyflow that occurs in the more northern areas. As a result of the extra space needed by the queen to build up larger populations of bees, many beekeepers do use a second brood chamber.
However, in areas such as yours, the honeyflow does not reach intense proportions, but is a constant honeyflow that occurs throughout the year. The queen lays just enough eggs to keep the colony built up to normal levels to take advantage of the existing honeyflow. If she lays too many eggs there will be too many bees for the amount of nectar available.
We would suggest that you extract the honey in your second brood chamber and, as you mentioned in your letter, replace it with a honey super. Then, as the bees fill up the super, you can extract it and replace the combs.
We might mention that in some countries such as Mexico, beekeepers will even go into the brood chamber and scrape the cappings off sealed honey that has been stored in the brood chamber. This condition is usually caused by the short wintertime slowdown in egg laying. As the bees move the open honey up into the supers, the queen is able to lay eggs in the empty cells. From the increase in egg laying comes stronger colonies which are able to take advantage of the next honeyflow.
What I would like to know is, is it necessary to have two brood chambers, or is there any advantage in doing so? It seems to me that the extra brood chamber could be replaced with honey supers and thus I would be able to extract that much more honey. I would very much appreciate you answering this question for me.
In localities where the honeyflow is constant, the queen will usually not lay as many eggs at one time as queens do where the honeyflow is shorter and more intense. In northern areas the stimulation of the increasingly longer days causes the queen to start laying many more eggs as the days do get longer. Thus, by the time the honeyflow has started, the colony has built up to a tremendous population and is able to take advantage of the intense, but comparatively short honeyflow that occurs in the more northern areas. As a result of the extra space needed by the queen to build up larger populations of bees, many beekeepers do use a second brood chamber.
However, in areas such as yours, the honeyflow does not reach intense proportions, but is a constant honeyflow that occurs throughout the year. The queen lays just enough eggs to keep the colony built up to normal levels to take advantage of the existing honeyflow. If she lays too many eggs there will be too many bees for the amount of nectar available.
We would suggest that you extract the honey in your second brood chamber and, as you mentioned in your letter, replace it with a honey super. Then, as the bees fill up the super, you can extract it and replace the combs.
We might mention that in some countries such as Mexico, beekeepers will even go into the brood chamber and scrape the cappings off sealed honey that has been stored in the brood chamber. This condition is usually caused by the short wintertime slowdown in egg laying. As the bees move the open honey up into the supers, the queen is able to lay eggs in the empty cells. From the increase in egg laying comes stronger colonies which are able to take advantage of the next honeyflow.
Comments
Post a Comment