Too many stores in the brood box in Spring

[Bananas]

For the last 2 years, my first spring inspection has found a healthy hive but also a brood box with about 5 full frames of stores and the rest brood. The problem is there isnt any space so what I tend to do is remove 2-3 brood frames of stores and replace with undrawn foundation so the queen has some space to lay.

The problem is what to do with these great big brood frames of stores I take off? Obviously the brood box will expand into the space I left them so I cant put these frames back. Is this simply for the bin? I probably wouldnt eat it as its been through Varoa treatment and winter feeding of fondant.

Any ideas what to do with these frames of stores?

[Patrick]

Hi Bananas and welcome to the Forum.

Great name, wish I had thought of it! It’s a common issue - note I don’t say problem - because getting it right with autumn feeding is an inexacr science. You never know what the weather or duration of winter will be and an over fed colony sure beats a starved one.

I am assuming they are likely full of sugar syrup not honey? You can set aside the spare frames of stores either securely in a shed or if you have space in a freezer and give them back in autumn on the edges ax the brood next contracts again in lieu of more syrup. Use them if you make up a nuc or during a June Gao if you have one. Or after extraction of honey extract the brood frames and reuse the empty combs. Think of them as a resource rather than a problem.

[Japey Edge]

I've got a similar issue. I've sought advice and have come up with my plan. I will be employing the skills of my colony in a Maisemore 6 frame poly nuc. I have a brood box for this nuc coming in the post this week, which I will fill with the heavy combs full of stores that I removed two weeks back. I will be sticking the Maisies feeder on top of the nuc, then the brood box with frames of stores on that. I'll bruise all the cells of the stores frames and trickle some down the middle so they go up for it.

I need to have a look to make sure they can't get into the feeder. Otherwise it will be a makeshift crown board or something.

That's my plan. I will let you know how I get on.

[AdamD]

I remove some excess frames for use with nucs, however bees will clear stores if they need the space. Consider in early spring, the colony is often clustered around the entrance on a few frames; and the brood will be in the lower corner of those frames; over the coming weeks that brood area will expand and will slowly take over much of the frame; and pollen or capped honey will be consumed as they do so.

It's then not uncommon for me to find a frame with pollen on one side close the the brood nest and eggs being laid on the other side of the frame, then the pollen is consumed and brood appears on that side too, a week later.

A question arises to those that keep bees the warm way. Is the pattern I describe the same as you see?

[nealh]

Don't waste or destroy the bees hard work, save the stores/combs for later. Ideal for feed during the summer dearth if needed, use on other colonies, nuc feeding or reuse in winter.
Wrap the combs and store if possible in a freezer or old fridge, if not store them in a BB in a cool place and seal the box from pests.

[Chrisbarlow]

I use em to make nucs up with virgin queens

Feed em to other existing colonies or nucs low on stores.

You can use them in walk away splits

Someone else mentioned using them in the June gap

Could even keep em for following winter

I also use them in colonies set up specifically to draw out new foundation. So a colony in a triple brood box. Bottom one is the colony, middle one new foundation , top one filled with sugar syrup store frames that have all been bruised.

[thewoodgatherer]

On my last visit from the bee inspector last year he was insistent that we should not share frames around even in the same apiary, seams a little over the top not to say highly impractical.

[Patrick]

On my last visit from the bee inspector last year he was insistent that we should not share frames around even in the same apiary, seams a little over the top not to say highly impractical.

It’s an interesting one isn’t it? Because in terms of minimising disease transmission he is right of course and on that basis alone it’s a difficult one to argue. But the welfare of colonies is more than just reducing the risk of disease transmission and so we all make different calls there . I am sure many of my methods fall short of best practice. Do I keep my hive tool in washing soda between hives? Do I change nitrile gloves between handling frames between each hive? Do I change combs out within 3 years? Do I ever equalise colonies in the same apiary? And it goes on.

So I suppose it comes down to whether we are being reckless or taking a calculated risk and is that calculation informed or just a guess?

[nealh]

Within your apiaries you should have a good idea if any are diseased.

[Patrick]

You are right but worth considering despite all the disease lectures and articles we have all attended still ? 95 % of EFB cases are apparently only found by Inspectors.