Patty in Central Missouri writes:
   1. It was my understanding that the two deep supers would be used for
 
brood.  By my  observation, the second deep is mostly honey stores, very
 
little brood.
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       Bees fill the combs with honey from the top down and raise brood
from the bottom up.  So the brood nest moves up and down in the hive as
the colony balances incoming nectar with their need to raise brood.  In
autumn, you probably want the bees to store lots of honey for winter so
the brood nest is going to be pushed down.
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  2.  Although I consider my bees extremely gentle, I suffered stings to
each thumb.
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       Even gentle bees can be cantankerous at times.  The best time to
work bees is in the middle of a sunny day when a nectar flow is
happening; bees don't seem to pay any attention to the beekeeper because
they are busy.  The worst time to work bees is while they are both
excited by the discovery of unguarded honey and trying to defend their
own stores (robbing a weak colony or cleaning out wet extracting supers,
for instance).  (Working bees at night in the rain is also not
pleasant.)
     If bees come rocketing out of the colony when the  hive bodies are
pried apart, the wise hobbyist closes the hive and walks away.
     Although I often work my bees without getting any stings, I am not
surprised when I do get a sting . I remove the stinger rapidly with my
hive tool, smoke the spot , and continue.
    How often to check the brood nest:  I check the brood nest at least
once in spring to look for brood and AFB.  For the rest of the year,
external signs should help you gauge the health of the brood nest,
especially if you have more than one colony.  If the behavior or number
of bees at the front of one hive seems different, then you should
investigate.  If lots of bees are actively foraging, bringing in nectar
and pollen, then the brood nest is probably OK.
    (When I first got bees, I was inside the brood nest frequently
because I wanted to see what was going on.)
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     3. DARK comb sharing a frame with honey and a few capped brood (no
discernible larvae).  Is this comb that has produced brood or is there
something else going on?
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     You have figured this one out.  Each pupa spins a cocoon and,
except for the end of the cocoon where the adult bee emerges, these
cocoons stay in the comb forever.  The comb gets darker and the cells
get slightly smaller.
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    4.   Is what's in the bottom brood box plus the 2nd deep super
enough to overwinter?  If not, when do I feed?
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       A full deep hive body of honey should be enough for a colony for
winter.  Stand behind the colony, put one hand on top to steady the hive
and, with the other hand, lift the colony with the handhold on the
bottom hive body.  A colony ready for winter will not move unless you
really heave upward.  This method can be used all winter to check hive
stores and compare stores in different colonies.
     Lifting off the outer cover in cold weather will let you see
whether the bee cluster has eaten most of its honey and moved up to the
top of the hive.  If, on a cold day, the cluster has flowed up through
the center hole in the inner cover, the bees are starving and need to be
fed.
Tim
--
Tim Sterrett
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(southeastern) Pennsylvania, USA