Do bees practice stock rotation?

[Nakedapiarist]

Just wondering, will bees in a hive with good stores go for the oldest crop first or do they just go for whatever is closest to the brood?

 

[oliver90owner]

Frames of stores nearest the outside of a cold brood box often do not get used. Down to the beekeeper to encouragevthe use of old stores. Easily done.

 

[Finman]

Just wondering, will bees in a hive with good stores go for the oldest crop first or do they just go for whatever is closest to the brood?

Actually it is a good question when we think how the hive builds up at the beginning if summer.

When I have double brood hives or one brood over winter, I swap the brood boxes during summer that winter food and old honey goes to rotation. At same time I move the edge frames towards centre that bees make brood into them.

Before yield flow moving is vain because bees move stores to another brood frame. So super must be on , before you do that trick.

Some guys say that bees cannot mix winter food to new honey. But you must do so because hive must always have 5 kg honey. Stores cannot be consumed to zero and then starts new yield.

Old honey is crystallized and syrup is liquid.

Swapping of brood frames is useful too, that combs will be consumed evenly, dark/white parts.
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[Finman]

. Easily done.

If you use double brood, many operations goes easily compared to one and half. You can change the place of frames.

For example you give second brood box under the wintering box and they are foundations. You put food store frames in the middle of foundation box and you move couple of foundations on the sides of upper box.

Drawing of foundations prevents swarming in early summer. And you get new combs...

But do not split brood area with empty combs or foundations. That makes only harm.

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