>         I have a hive that has the brood in the
> upper deep only. I assume the bees filled the
> bottom with honey they robbed from a partially
> filled super I left for them to clear, thereby
> forcing the queen up.
>
>          Should I rotate the deeps or just the
> frames with brood or leave them alone? We had a
> killing frost last night so there won't be much
> left but some aster.
 
If the bees are in the top, the likely reason is that it is
(at least partially) empty.
 
If it is empty, then unless you have been mucking about exchanging
boxes or frames  at this late date,  my bet is that thew bottom one
is pretty empty too.
 
The solution is to heft the hive, discover it is light and feed at
least 2 gallons -- probably more--  of thick syrup.  You should be
aiming at about 100 pounds minimum.  More is better. (I try to keep
my doubles close to this weight year round).
 
Inserting combs and reversing at this late date will likely increse
chances of loss.
 
>         One management tactic I have heard about
> to force the brood area into the lower deep
> requires installing a queen excluder between the
> two deeps. This  restricts the queen to only one
> deep. Later upon observing eggs and young larvae
> in the upper deep it is moved to the bottom. Is
> this a worthwhile practice? When should it be
> done. I know it is to late now.
 
Very dangerous practice if cold weather is in the offing -- see
pollinater's recent post.   Avoid invasive manipulations this late in
the season.
 
>         Well I and my bees have survived the easy
> part of the year. I'm looking forward to my first
> fall and winter of beekeeping.
 
Good luck and don't spare the feed.
 
>         Lastly, I want to thank everyone who
> shared their experiences, experience, knowledge
> and enthusiasm of beekeeping with this list. I
> know I am a better beekeeper due in large part to
> this list.
 
me too.  I must say that in reading the posts and thinking about
things to write here myself, I have learned a lot and imprioved my
beekeeping immensely.
Regards
 
Allen
 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                                         VE6CFK
RR#1, Swalwell, Alberta  Canada T0M 1Y0
Internet:[log in to unmask] & [log in to unmask]
Honey. Bees, & Art <http://www.internode.net/~allend/>