Andrew Dewey wrote:

>In the course of this I noticed several hives that had bees on the middle
>three or four frames evenly distributed between the bottom and top deep.  In
>another ten days or so I'll be doing a real manipulation - and I'm wondering
>if I should "rebuild" the brood nest into one box.
>
>
>
On this list, there have been several discussions on reversing, pro or
con, but one thing just about all agree on is to leave the brood nest
alone if it is in both hive bodies. If you reverse, you split the brood
nest. If you try to make it into one body, you are almost doing the
same, splitting the brood nest into the top and bottom of one hive body.
When you split the brood nest you are making it harder for the bees to
cover the brood and will probably chill some brood and lose those bees.
It would not be quite as bad as reversing, but would still be
detrimental. You want every bee you can get during early spring buildup,
since that will lead to a strong hive in dandelions and clover.

April in Maine is not a good time for bees or flowering trees since we
can get cold or freezing weather which chills brood and blossoms.

The end of this week may bring some freezing nights. I would wait until
70F to do any extensive manipulation. Monday and Tuesday might meet that
criteria. Not sure what we will have in ten days.

At this time, I would leave them alone and just do general
housecleaning. My 2 cents.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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