Hive Management

[Pete]

I have 5 hives in my yard that i am keeping, the rest are going. 3 are 2 x FS 8 frame boxes, they are choc full of brood and brood ringed with honey with a single frame of honey on the outside of the top box.

I want to put a new box on each and hopefully end up with lots of honey.

Whats likely to happen as i add the box without an excluder? Will i end up with the same pattern of brood in the middle and hone on the outside. Is the excluder the only way to get them to store lots of honey in the top super. Or will they just make it all honey since the bottom 2 boxes are mostly brood?

[AllenF]

Bees store honey over brood.   If you  have enough open space below for brood, the bees will store all their honey on top in the honey supers.  No excluder needed.  If the bottom boxes are honey bound, the queen will move up to lay in the honey supers.

[Mardak]

If you don't have swarming behaviour the chances are very good you will a pretty productive happening in a few weeks. Best wishes with it.

[Pete]

She has loads of room to lay in the first 2 boxes, all started as swarm this year, 1 or 2 i have combine and the colonies are stong. I will add the box this week and see how we go