![]() ![]() His admiration and respect has kept growing for the bees that play such a vital part in the World’s ecology. Harry has a desire to reintroduce honeybees into his own town, as well as aiding others to do the same. He naturally progressed from being novice Beekeeper with 2 hives in 2015 to over 50 hives in 2023. Harry became interested in beekeeping at the age of 10. We constantly strive to provide good quality products at the best possible prices. Check out our website for more information.Our aim at Simon the Beekeeper is to make beekeeping an affordable hobby for everyone. Want to know more about managing your hives? Ecrotek offers lots of free resources to help you get started. And if you’ve been using one brood box, try two and see if it’s easier for the sort of beekeeping that you’re doing.įor more advice and insight, watch our best practice video with Dr Mark Goodwin here. If you already have a double-brood nest, consider using a single to see how much harder it is. You don’t need to decide how many brood boxes you will use and then keep it that way forever. However, if you want to be able to manage a larger number of hives with less input into each, then a double brood box will be much better,” says Dr Mark Goodwin. “If you want to do the approach of minimum hive numbers and maximum management, then a single brood box is the way to go. So even though it may take more management and consistent checks, you will probably find that the single brood system is more efficient. ![]() Running your hive to collect honey in a single box will mean a high number of bees on a small frame surface. These days, single brood boxes are much more popular than two. When you have a bigger drone brood you are more at risk of the varroa mite infiltrating your hives. When using two brood boxes, it may be a good idea to use varroa treatment. Double-brood boxes are much harder to keep warm which may slow down the growth of the colony. You could use two in winter but the queen will travel to the top box to stay warm. In winter you may want to switch to one box – this is what many beekeepers do. This means you will have to make more trips per hive. They take up more room so you will get fewer hives per load. This also means you avoid the risk of disturbing the queen.Ī double box is heavier and harder to manipulate than a single. With two, you can give them larger amounts less often. When using one brood box, there is only enough room to feed your broods sugar syrup in small increments. This means you won’t need to check your hives as often. With two brood boxes, there is enough space for your queen to lay as many eggs as she can. This means during spring and summer your colony will be able to grow to its full potential. The queen has two boxes to lay her eggs through. If you use a ventilated top feeder to save space, it may cool the hive slightly and slow the queen down. With a two-frame feeder inside your brood nest, that’s two frames less space you have for your queen. When you need to start feeding sugar syrup, feeders will take room away from the brood nest, which will also slow down honey production. One brood box is a more confined space so there is less room to heat – helping the bees sustain a much warmer atmosphere.ĭuring the spring period when the colony has increased and the queen doesn’t have any room left to lay, the population of your colony may stop growing at the rate it should, which will decrease your honey production. Colony numbers dramatically decline in winter and the queen stops laying as many eggs. One brood box makes it easier to check brood for disease and infestation, look for swarm cells and find the queen.ĭuring the winter months, your bees will not need as much space. Your beehives will be easier to transport, lift and manipulate, which may be essential if you’re doing all your beekeeping on your own. The obvious benefit of using one brood box is that you will have less equipment to buy and use. Beekeepers develop preferences depending on what suits their needs and style. You will need to decide whether using one or two brood boxes is right for you. However, over time as honey prices increased, people moved over to a one-box brood nest.” This was because honey prices were really low during that time and two boxes were easier to manage. “Before 2006, every hive in New Zealand had a two-box brood nest. Internationally renowned honeybee scientist, Dr Mark Goodwin, explains: There’s no one correct way, and trends have changed over time. You can choose to run your hive with a single brood box, or give the queen more room to move by adding a second one. ![]() The brood box is located at the bottom of the hive, underneath the supers and separated by a screen. It contains the queen bee and all of her eggs. The brood box is the most integral piece of equipment for a successful beehive. How to successfully run your hives all year round ![]()
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