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 #8842  by Chrisbarlow
 11 Sep 2020, 18:09
Whilst wrapping up an apiary today for winter, removing honey and checking that they're queen rite, I noticed a couple with only brood patterns of eggs.

Is any one else experiencing brood breaks in any of their colonies?
 #8843  by NigelP
 11 Sep 2020, 18:42
Yes, had several during the last week of August that stopped laying. Most are starting again. It's quite common at that time of year....the scientist in me wonders whether the break is the change over to starting to produce winter bees . No proof just a thought.
 #8844  by Steve 1972
 11 Sep 2020, 19:09
I have never witnessed brood breaks in any colonies until this year..mainly because of years gone by i have never had to inspect the brood boxes for stores..
This year i have had to do that on seven hives that where emptying supers..all seven had little stores in the brood box and zero eggs..two other colonies had stores and both of them had brood and eggs..i wonder if the lack of summer flow triggers something in the bees to stop laying...and then start again with the Autumn flow of pollen and nectar..i will be inspecting brood boxes on the seven iffy hives on Sunday..all have been fed sugar syrup and pollen substitute.. i will update my findings..
 #8848  by AndrewLD
 12 Sep 2020, 07:45
Have a look at this article by Randy Oliver on brood production over the course of a year. The timings are slightly different for us in the UK due to climatic differences but general throust holds good.

http://scientificbeekeeping.com/understanding-colony-buildup-and-decline-part-9a/

It's quite normal to have a marked drop in brood production in August but by now it should build up for winter bee production. Judging by the orientation flights outside the hives mine have just had another batch emerge to release more foragers after a quiet spell.
 #8851  by AdamD
 12 Sep 2020, 13:57
Brood breaks at this time of year are sometimes very noticable, sometimes less so. (I guess it depends on the queen and the forage and the weather). There has been little pollen coming in to my hives recently and those colonies which have been made up have zero pollen reserves - what's coming in must be getting used up straight away. Hopefully Ivy will come to the rescue to allow the colonies suffficient pollen for now and to store for winter..
 #9373  by MickBBKA
 29 Oct 2020, 01:15
Almost all my colonies have a brood break in September. I think they take a break to balance out the colony size going into winter because they are locally bred and adapted. There is a huge gap between the mythical BBKA ' main flow ' in July from the Northern gap from mid June to mid September when the Ivy may flower if we are lucky.
 #9384  by NigelP
 30 Oct 2020, 09:05
Not sure if it's down to "local adaption" Mick. Most of my imports have a brood break around then as well. Might be more to do with bees reacting to local conditions.
Back of my mind (with no hard evidence) suggests they may have a break or slow down as they switch to producing the longer lived "winter" bees which are reared at a slightly lower temperature than the "summer" bees.
 #9386  by The Poot
 30 Oct 2020, 12:52
Hi all,
First post here...
I have only four colonies and two of them displayed brood breaks in September. The other two had brood breaks earlier in the Summer, something to do with swarming or splitting. Ahem! I found it helpful as vaping during the brood break was effective in eliminating varroa more quickly than in the colonies that produced brood through the month.
It’s not always easy to determine there’s a brood break rather than a queen failure - sometimes you just have to hold your nerve!
 #9387  by Chrisbarlow
 30 Oct 2020, 13:40
The Poot wrote:
30 Oct 2020, 12:52
Hi all,
First post here...
I have only four colonies and two of them displayed brood breaks in September. The other two had brood breaks earlier in the Summer, something to do with swarming or splitting. Ahem! I found it helpful as vaping during the brood break was effective in eliminating varroa more quickly than in the colonies that produced brood through the month.
It’s not always easy to determine there’s a brood break rather than a queen failure - sometimes you just have to hold your nerve!
welcome to the forum. I agree about brood break and queen failure, I also find it a wait and see game. Reading others views elsewhere, many suggest brood break is a great time for an oxalic acid vape.
 #9389  by AdamD
 30 Oct 2020, 14:03
Welcome to the forum, The Poot.
Relating to varroa, in my experience it's not uncommon for colonies that have no brood break all year to have large varroa numbers compared to those that attempted to swarm and therefore had a brood break, so the brood break does seem to help with varroa numbers.