yOn Tue, 25 Jun 1996, STEVE PHILLIPS wrote:
 
> When checking my hives yesterday, I noticed that in several of them (the
> strongest hives) virtually all of the combs in the brood box are filled with
> pollen, in the lower boxes, and honey, in the upper boxs.  There is a little
> brood near the bottom of the frames in the top box, and in burr comb
> between the frames.
>
        Steve-
I should have read your message more carfully. I somehow missed the part
"little brood". Since you specified "the strongest hives" are now
plugged, my guess is that they swarmed. Since there was no egg laying
(new queen not yet mated and laying) the bees stored honey in the broodnest.
If you can give them 2 or three combs with some brood and some empty
cells from other colonies. As someone else mentioned, last year this was
common just before PMS symptoms began to appear. I think the scarcity of
brood means more varroas per cell of brood as they compeat for
reproductive opportunity.