Hello Fellow Bee-Lers!
 
I have been going back and forth with some of the folks on the Bee-L
regarding what I might do in a new situation I have come across.  It
seems that when I treated my hives with strips, there was allot of
honey and brood in the upper brood chamber (BC) of 3 hives.  I
assumed the bees were going to move up into the upper BCs this winter
as I read moving upward is what they do.  When I went back to remove
the strips, I found the upper BCs were completely filled and capped
with honey!  I have been asking (privately) what I should be doing to
fix this.  I was prompted by the people I was communicating with to
post this to the list so here it is.
 
Here are my concerns and questions:
 
Should I extract the honey in the upper BCs and leave the supers
above the queen excluder for their winter feed only?  I understand
that many folks don't even leave any honey supers on in the winter as
the bees fly all year round here.  (15 miles south of San Francisco)
 
I was told that the bees may have not been exposed to the strips as
the honey in the upper BC prevented this and I should re-insert the
strips in the lower BC ASAP.
 
Here is one reply I received:
 
<I went thru the same thought processes, but in Nov. I noticed that
some of
the hives were not up to strength. On further examination I found
that
these hives had the second story full of honey, and the strips never
were
into the brood. So I had to treat these again by removing the second
story
and putting the strips into the brood in the first story. Some of
these
hives died, and some have responded. But be careful, you can still
have a
serious varroa problem and not see any varroa. If you actually see a
varroa
mite, you already have a serious infestation.>
 
If i do extract all the upper BCs, and replace the empty frames and
BC, will this invite a wax moth problem?
 
In addition, it was recommended I go to single BCs.
 
I like the idea of going to one BC (less hassle), but I reverse the
BCs as a
swarm prevention technique. Last spring both BCs were packed with
bees and brood.  My feelings is that going to one BC will make them
more swarmey and limit the population possibilities.
 
How does one deal with these concerns?
 
Any comments on these questions will greatly appreciate as this is my
first year of bee keeping and I have no experience base to form a
plan of action from.
 
Thanks for any help you can lend and Happy Holidays
 
 
 
Mason Harris, MA
SMCOE Audiology Dept.
E-Mail:
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