Maximise Your Honey Crop: The Secret to Successful Spring Colony Expansion
As beekeepers, we're always on the lookout for techniques that can give our colonies a boost in the spring and set them up for a bountiful summer honey harvest - we all want to maximise our honey crop! In this comprehensive guide, I'm excited to share a simple yet highly effective method that I've been using with great success - adding an extra box underneath the brood nest in early spring.
This technique might seem counterintuitive at first, as conventional wisdom often advises against adding extra space too early in the season. The concern is that by giving the bees more room, you risk them losing too much precious heat from the brood nest, potentially setting the colony back. However, I've found that this strategic placement of an extra box can actually provide numerous benefits, helping your colonies thrive in the spring, produce bumper crops come summertime and help mitigate early season swarming!
Understanding the Challenges of Spring Colony Expansion
In early spring, as the weather starts to warm and the bees become more active, their population and brood production rapidly increase. This can quickly lead to a shortage of space within the brood nest, as the queen needs room to lay her eggs and the workers need space to store pollen and nectar. If left unaddressed, this lack of space can trigger swarming behaviour, which is the bees natural response to overcrowding.
Traditionally, beekeepers have tried to combat this issue by adding supers or additional brood boxes on top of the brood nest. However, this approach can be problematic if taken too early, as the bees may lose too much heat through the top of the hive, especially during periods of cold weather. This heat loss can significantly slow down the colony's development and even cause a setback in their spring growth. The do nothing approach also has the risk of overcrowding, which can lead to early season swarming. Not the best start to the season!
The Solution: Maximise Your Honey Crop By Providing Controlled Expansion with an Extra Box
The technique I'm going to share with you today provides a simple solution to this challenge. Instead of adding supers on top, we're going to place an extra brood box underneath the existing brood nest and switch to double brood. This strategic placement allows the colony to expand without compromising the insulation and warmth of the brood area with the added benefit that the colony is still in contact with the feeder, should they need emergency spring feeding.
Here's how it works:
Identify strong, booming colonies: This technique is best suited for your most robust and rapidly growing colonies in early spring. These are the colonies that are likely to run out of space in the brood nest and need additional room to expand.
Prepare the extra brood box: The extra box you'll be adding should ideally be the same size as your existing brood box, filled with a mix of drawn comb and foundation frames (or all foundation is fine). This gives the bees a head start on building out the new space.
Place the extra box underneath: Gently lift the entire hive setup (brood box, roof, etc.) and slide the prepared extra box underneath directly onto the existing floor. This effectively adds an additional layer of space for the colony to utilise.
Maintain regular inspections: Even though you've provided the extra space, it's still crucial to continue your regular hive inspections and management practices. This technique is not a substitute for diligent colony monitoring and care. However, if you do this early in the year, you do not need to commence inspections for a good few weeks, as the bees will have plenty of space and it's best to not disturb them again. Just stick to hefting the hive from the outside to monitor overall stores and weight.
By placing the extra box underneath the brood nest, you're creating a buffer zone that allows the colony to expand without losing too much heat from the critical brood area. The bees can gradually fill out this new space as their population and brood production increase, without compromising the insulation and warmth of the hive. The bees are now further away from the ventilated floor which means it's a little bit warmer and less draughty, which means brood rearing can commence earlier in this configuration.
Timing of The Technique
As with most things in beekeeping the timing is critical. Do I do this every year on every colony? No! But I keep it in my arsenal for very specific conditions.
Colony growth in the spring is linked to temperature but also very much the length of the days. This technique is best suited to a cold spring where the days become longer (triggering colony growth) but the temps remain cold. If you add no boxes at all, the colony is at risk of swarming (and believe me, overcrowding will cause them to swarm!). If you add supers, you can severely stunt your colonies growth because you lose too much heat upwards. The same applies when adding an additional brood box above the brood nest.
Adding a brood box underneath the brood next mitigates swarming early in the season but also provides a number of benefits over and above the extra space that it provides.
In terms of timing, I like to see how things are panning out with the weather before committing to this technique. If its looking like a cold spring, I will start adding the extra brood box around the middle to end of March, or even into April. If you are looking to double brood for any other reason (multiple splits maybe) you can even do this technique from end of Jan/early Feb onwards, to be on the safe side. The middle of March is the sweet spot in the UK though in my opinion.
The Benefits of This Technique
Implementing this simple spring colony expansion method can provide numerous advantages for your beekeeping operation:
1. Prevents Swarming
One of the primary benefits of this technique is its ability to help prevent swarming. By providing the bees with additional space to grow and expand, you're reducing the likelihood of them feeling overcrowded and triggered to swarm. This is crucial, as swarming can significantly disrupt your honey production and colony management plans. Adding a box above will also help prevent swarming, but comes with significant drawbacks at this time of the year including significant heat loss and detachment from the insulated feeder.
2. Supports Robust Spring Growth
With the extra box in place, your colonies can continue to grow and thrive in the spring without the risk of heat loss. This allows them to build up their populations and brood production at a faster rate, setting the stage for a more productive summer honey flow.
3. Maximises Your Honey Crop
By giving your colonies the space they need in the spring, you're setting them up for a maximum honey harvest on a double brood configuration. With a strong, well-established population and ample brood production, your bees will be primed to take full advantage of the summer nectar flow, which maximise your honey harvest!
4. Simplifies Autumn Preparation
Another benefit of this technique is that it simplifies the process of preparing your colonies for the autumn and winter seasons. By adding the extra box underneath in the spring, you're essentially creating the configuration you'll want to have in place for the colder months. You can leave your colonies to overwinter on double brood, or you can condense to a single brood and start the process again the following spring, if required.
Maximising the Impact: Additional Considerations
While the core of this technique is the addition of the extra box underneath the brood nest, there are a few additional considerations that can help you maximise its impact:
Insulation and Ventilation
Ensure that your hive setup, including the extra box, is properly insulated and ventilated. This will help maintain the ideal temperature and humidity levels within the hive, allowing the bees to thrive. Consider using an insulated inner cover or a ventilated top cover to help regulate the hive environment. My favourite feeder is an insulated poly ashforth feeder and this an integral part of this set up.
Feeding and Nutrition
In the early spring, when the bees are rapidly expanding their brood production, they may require supplemental feeding to ensure they have enough resources to support this growth. Consider providing a protein-rich pollen substitute or a sugar syrup feed to help fuel their development. If you added a brood box on top of your existing brood box, the bees would struggle to find where this feed is located. By following this technique, the bees are already aware of where to access their food.
Monitoring for Swarming
Even with the extra space provided by the additional box, it's still important to monitor your colonies closely for signs of swarming once the bees begin to fill the additional box. Look for indicators such as the presence of queen cells, a decrease in foraging activity, or a sudden drop in the colony's population. If you notice these signs, you may need to take additional measures to prevent swarming, such as splitting the colony or removing excess queen cells.
Conclusion: Unlock the Key to Spring and Summer Success
By implementing this simple yet highly effective spring colony expansion technique, you can give your bees the boost they need to thrive in the spring and set the stage for a bountiful summer honey harvest. By providing the extra space underneath the brood nest, you're helping your colonies avoid the pitfalls of heat loss and overcrowding, while setting them up for optimal growth and productivity.
Remember, successful beekeeping is all about striking the right balance between colony management and environmental conditions. This technique is just one tool in your arsenal, but when used in conjunction with other best practices, it can be a game-changer for your beekeeping operation.
So, what are you waiting for? Give this spring colony expansion method a try and see the difference it can make in your apiary. And don't forget to check out the other resources and support available through our YouTube channel, Discord server, and website. Happy beekeeping!
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can I use this technique with any type of hive?
Yes, this spring colony expansion method can be applied to a variety of hive types, including National deeps, 14x12 boxes, and even shallow supers. The key is to use a box that is the same depth as your existing brood box, so that the bees can seamlessly transition between the two but even different size boxes will work if needs be.
2. How long should I leave the extra box in place?
The extra box should remain in place until the colony has completely filled out both the original brood box and the added box. Once the bees have drawn comb and filled the frames in both boxes, you can then transition the colony into its final summer configuration by moving the queen back to the original brood box and placing a queen excluder between the two boxes or leaving them on double brood for the full season.
3. Do I need to worry about the bees building comb in the extra box?
No, you don't need to worry too much about the bees building comb in the extra box. By providing a mix of drawn comb and foundation frames, you're giving them a head start on the new space, which should discourage them from building excessive amounts of burr comb or cross-comb. As long as the frames are correctly spaced close together, it will even work with a full box of foundation.
4. Can I use this technique on all of my colonies, or just the strongest ones?
This technique is best suited for your strongest, most booming colonies in the early spring. Weaker or smaller colonies may not have the population or resources to effectively utilise the extra space, and adding the box could actually do more harm than good. Focus on your most robust colonies first, and then consider applying the technique to your other hives as they grow stronger.
5. Do I need to make any other changes to my management practices when using this technique?
While this spring colony expansion method is a valuable tool, it's not a substitute for your regular hive inspections and management practices. You'll still need to continue monitoring your colonies closely, checking for signs of swarming, disease, or other issues that may require your attention (as and when the weather permits) The extra box simply provides your bees with the space they need to thrive, but you'll still need to be an active and engaged beekeeper to ensure their overall health and productivity.
If you want some general advice on how to stop your bees swarming during the season, check out the guide on our website:
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