Bar manipulations in Spring?

[Grandma_DOG]

Two questions:

1. There are a few suggestions on various TBH webpages that suggest putting empty bars in the brood nest area in Late Spring. This serves to apparently increase the brood nest and to prevent swarming.  Is this true and can someone vouch for this?

2. There is also a few hints that TBHs won't make as much honey as they could and that empty bars must be added between the brood nest and the honey storage area.  Could someone confirm this, also?

[Natalie]

I am interested in an answer for this too if anyone can help. Thanks.

[Brian D. Bray]

Regardless of what type of hive you have opening up the brood chamber is one method of swarm suppression.  Putting empty frames into the brood chamber is opening it up, and bees building comb in the brood chamber usually don't swarm, so yes putting a blank TBH frame in the midst of the brood area will help iinhibit swarming but will not always prevent it.

[Michael Bush]

>Is this true and can someone vouch for this?

Yes, and yes.

> There is also a few hints that TBHs won't make as much honey as they could and that empty bars must be added between the brood nest and the honey storage area.

I've never worried about that, but you could put bars there, I guess.  I don't see that they make less honey, but you have to harvest more often to get the same amount of honey.