A year ago, to reduce back strain, I switched to three Illinois size from two regular brood boxes. I take supers off the end of June and whatever bees make from then on is theirs to keep. Heavy mite infestation in August is then treated with Apistan. [Also in March-April each spring - which seems to work well]. T-mites are dealt with via sugar-grease patties for eight months and menthol in August. Healthwise, it seems to work. We have had three successive warm winters. The Carniolans start brood in January, three weeks earlier than Italians I have had, and they eat half of the stores compared to the Italians. This spring the top brood boxes of each hive are full of capped honey; which was never touched fall or winter. While it makes supering easy without using a queen excluder, what should I do with this honey after July 1? The honey/wax has been exposed to Apistan at least twice. I have neighbors with five and seven hives within a half mile or so who keep Italians and they super for fall also. The Italians from at least one neighbor are constantly trying to rob my carniolan hives. [They are down wind from the prevailing NW winds.] The questions for me are: what to do about the existing honey and should I go to two Illinois brood boxes for the future. If the honey as well as the wax is suspect, I would not want to put the boxes out to be robbed after I take off my supers because of the neighbors' bees who will be making honey in supers. So any advice will be appreciated. In this area it is not uncommon for people to brood their Italians in one deep and one Illinois. With Carniolans, what are the probablities of success using only two Illinois for brood through the winter.[It should make comb honey even easier to make given the way they explode brood production in the spring. However, they probably will want to swarm weeks before the honey flow.] John F. Mesinger [log in to unmask]