# Do you reverse hive bodies?



## ccar2000 (Aug 9, 2009)

No, but I do take the two darkest combs, move them to the two outside positions in place of the ones I moved last year and backfill the space with frames of foundation placed between drawn comd. For me, this allows the two relocated combs to be emptied by the bees and fresh frames to be added to the inner area of the hive. Maybe this is irrelevent to your query and just my two cents.


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

Last spring was my first spring coming out of a winter. If the bottom box was empty and the upper box has stores and laying space I reversed them. Can't say if it improved anything or not as I had nothing to compare it with.


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## rwlaw (May 4, 2009)

My mentor always said " leave em alone they'll move down on they're own"


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## beeware10 (Jul 25, 2010)

In the spring they will start to whiten the top bars with new wax and there should be some brood in the lower super. If they are not working in the bottom super its too early. another benefit is they will keep the lower combs in better shape by reconditioning them.


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## VitaminBee (Aug 17, 2013)

rwlaw said:


> My mentor always said " leave em alone they'll move down on they're own"


RW, that's what I've leaned toward, but it's always such a start when I open a hive, as I just did (lid only) and they are Right There (screened inner board).


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## brownbuff75 (Jul 1, 2013)

I usually do rotate them but last spring I didn't and I had to deal with swarms. They didn't move down.


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## Mike Gillmore (Feb 25, 2006)

I overwinter my colonies with either 3 or 4 mediums. In early Spring when pollen starts coming in the cluster is usually up in the top 1 or 2 boxes with brood, so I'll reverse the lowest box (which is usually either empty or without brood) and move it to the top. This keeps the bees expanding the broodnest upward without disturbing the core broodnest. Depending on conditions I might do this one more time before adding supers and beginning to open the broodnest with empty frames.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

brownbuff75 said:


> I usually do rotate them but last spring I didn't and I had to deal with swarms. They didn't move down.


That's because leaving em alone to move down is the natural way, and swarming is the natural way. To achieve something more to our own desires such as controlling swarming and getting a bigger harvest, we intervene.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

Oldtimer said:


> That's because leaving em alone to move down is the natural way, and swarming is the natural way. To achieve something more to our own desires such as controlling swarming and getting a bigger harvest, we intervene.


very good point as usual ot.

i think it makes good sense to reverse if the cluster is in the top box coming out of winter. broodnest expansion upward is facilitated by the heat rising from the cluster. a frame or two of honey alternated with comb above the cluster may also help accelerate expansion. care must be taken not to reverse if the broodnest is divided across the gap between the two boxes to avoid splitting the nest and having part of it ending up on the very bottom and the other part at the very top. in that case excluding the queen down to the bottom box would be a safer way to get the broodnest relocated.

this is my first year to have bees ending up in the top boxes and will be reversing after the first round or two of brood emerges and i see the populations are increasing.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

what do you do if the cluster is in all 3 boxes. It got up to about 40 today with no wind and I had bees flying and alot of young bees orientating so I cracked the lid and every seam is filled with bees and they run down all 3 boxes. Not sure if the bottom box will be empty in another month and a half or not.


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

Harley Craig said:


> what do you do if the cluster is in all 3 boxes. It got up to about 40 today with no wind and I had bees flying and alot of young bees orientating so I cracked the lid and every seam is filled with bees and they run down all 3 boxes. Not sure if the bottom box will be empty in another month and a half or not.


get ready to feed the heck out of them, they're going to need it between now and natural spring food stuffs.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

> >>My mentor always said " leave em alone they'll move down on they're own"
> 
> >>I usually do rotate them but last spring I didn't and I had to deal with swarms. They didn't move down.


Exactly. Reversing is an important tool in swarm control, dealing with left-over crystallized honey in the spring, and comb renewal of the bottom box.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

clyderoad said:


> get ready to feed the heck out of them, they're going to need it between now and natural spring food stuffs.



I wasn't sure how much they needed going into winter so I put one of Lauri's blocks on top at the beginning of winter so I didn't have to disturb them when it was cold. They have been working on it all winter and haven't really touched their honey. (3) 8 frame Med are still weighing over 100 lbs.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Harley rather than just a straight reversal you may be best to move brood to the bottom on a frame by frame basis, with honey above it. You want them working upwards into the honey while using it for brood raising before any flow starts. 

Be on guard for swarm preparations with such a hive when it's time for that, and have a plan ready to deal with that, ie, will you split, or whatever.


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## Tommy Hodge (Jun 4, 2013)

I did not reverse last spring, but I will this year. I had 2 swarms even after swarm control splits and attempts to open the brood nest. Thinking about a late Feb or early March reversal...


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Never thought about that Oldtimer, Thanks for the idea. Yes I do plan on splitting I have a few mating nucs ready to go and a cloake board to get some cells. Do you think I should do a traditional split or a knock down split first or do you think making cells in the top box and removing them with a few frames of brood and stores will be enough to reduce the impulse to swarm. The thing I fear the most is they are Carni's and will literally explode with brood once any type of flow starts.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Harley Craig said:


> do you think making cells in the top box and removing them with a few frames of brood and stores will be enough to reduce the impulse to swarm.


Yes, just something simple like that. Although with Carnis, they can be real hard to control. it's actually why I stopped breeding carnis, I had so many complaints from purchasers about them swarming I switched to Italians. 
You may have to do multiple splits, and if it's more bees than you want think about selling some.


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

Harley Craig said:


> I wasn't sure how much they needed going into winter so I put one of Lauri's blocks on top at the beginning of winter so I didn't have to disturb them when it was cold. They have been working on it all winter and haven't really touched their honey. (3) 8 frame Med are still weighing over 100 lbs.
> View attachment 15493


Just thinking that 100lbs. seems heavy for 3-8frame mediums, how much did it weigh going into winter? I know carnis are frugal but could you be mistaken?
Also isn't it to early for carnis to be brooding up like this? 
Harley something I'm missing here but not sure what it is.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Half the hive weighed at 64 lbs when I buttoned them up, so my est was right under 130 lbs going into winter with a chimney of brood from top to bottom Just for insurance I put the shim on and the sugar block at the begenning of winter. I didn't weight it with a scale today, but I would guess total weight was around 100 lbs if I had to guess. This was a nuc I bought in june that swarmed less than a week after I got it. I should have checked it right away but I wanted them to settle. I had empty drawn comb so I stacked two boxes worth on because it was honey bound and when the new queen mated she exploded with brood and kept laying till november. I fed a total of about 6 gal of feed between august and november. FWIW they never kicked out drones this winter.....had them flying on a warm spell around new yrs.....


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

To behave like that through winter they would have to be a hybrid rather than pure carni, which fits with them having swarmed the new queen would have open mated. Some of those carni hybrids really kick butt, stronger in winter than pure carni and explode in spring, store massive honey if you can just keep them from swarming, which is the main issue, they can still be very swarm prone. Splits also will build quickly long as you get the queen done right and there is adequate food.


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## seapro220 (Mar 14, 2013)

I always reverse the brood boxes. I've found that after about 6 to 7 frames of brood up top, and mostly empty frames, that they tend/want to swarm more than moving back down. I think that they naturally want to 'go up', so I assist by creating more room up top for them.


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## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

"Do you reverse boxes?'

I'll never forget my very first meeting as brand new President of the Willamette Valley Beekeepers Association a million years ago.
I walked up to the pulpit, welcomed everyone and asked, "How are your bees looking?"
Two old timers that always set in the middle of the room asked, "When do you reverse the boxes?"
I had to think for a second. 
"Well,,,,I reverse boxes when conditions based upon a hive inspection indicate that it would be beneficial".
They were not having any of that.
Now one of them has both hands in the air, waving off my answer and asks, "WHEN??,,, The question is WHEN do you rotate boxes? WHEN?? WHEN??!!!!"
"Whenever you conduct a hive inspection and rotating boxes looks like a good move for sound reasons, I would rotate them right then and there!" I answered.
Now the old boys are looking at each other and shaking their heads like I am a complete idiot.
They were now clearly angry.
So the other one asks, " When should I reverse my boxes? Tomorrow? Next week? Next month?"
And now they are both setting there staring at me waiting for me to give them a black and white date on the calendar to do the deed.
I can feel the noose tightening around my neck 
So I meekly asked, "When do you plan on looking at your hives next?"
"Tomorrow!" the one guy belted.
"Good. If you find hives that look like reversal would serve a good purpose or for a good reason; reverse them tomorrow," I said.
Now, both of the old guys have their hands on the table, palms down, looking straight down at the table shaking their heads.

That was my 1st 5 minutes of President of a bee association.
Rough initiation, if you ask me.

Do I reverse hive bodies? 
Rarely. But I do reverse a number of them for various reasons when it seems beneficial.
And I am aware of some really good beekeepers that send their crews out with the sole instruction, "Queen check and reverse."
Thousands of hives get reversed right then and there. Many of them are the deep and western brood boxes folks.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Oldtimer said:


> To behave like that through winter they would have to be a hybrid rather than pure carni, which fits with them having swarmed the new queen would have open mated. Some of those carni hybrids really kick butt, stronger in winter than pure carni and explode in spring, store massive honey if you can just keep them from swarming, which is the main issue, they can still be very swarm prone. Splits also will build quickly long as you get the queen done right and there is adequate food.




Yeah that makes sense the only other guy around that has carnis is the guy I got them from 3 miles away, I have 2 other bee keepers withing 3 miles and they all keep italians.


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

That's some bad story Harry.

'But I do reverse a number of them for various reasons when it seems beneficial.'
What's the point?


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## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

clyderoad said:


> What's the point?


You wouldn't happen to be in your 80s and attend WVBA meetings in Salem; would you?


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

When it might be appropriate to reverse mine, the cluster is enough in the top of the lower box that I would make a huge split in the brood chamber. Nothing wrong with reversing, it just can't be done willy nilly. Maybe it is my climate but I am more apt to remove the lower box and let the bees more fully occupy that brood box and then put on a second later.


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

HarryVanderpool said:


> You wouldn't happen to be in your 80s and attend WVBA meetings in Salem; would you?


No, shy of my 80's and 3k miles away. 

I reverse almost all. Those where the brood nest is in the top box at about dandelion time get reversed. The colonies that span 2 boxes with brood don't get reversed at dandelion time but will get shook down before main flow.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

clyderoad said:


> No, shy of my 80's and 3k miles away.
> 
> I reverse almost all. Those where the brood nest is in the top box at about dandelion time get reversed. The colonies that span 2 boxes with brood don't get reversed at dandelion time but will get shook down before main flow.



Thank you this is helpfull ! Everyone wants dates etc, but there is a typical order of which things appear at different times in different areas, and dandelion bloom is one of them two springs ago I had one prepping for swarm right at the tail end of dandelion but I split it with no problems


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I rotate mine.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

HarryVanderpool said:


> "Do you reverse boxes?'
> 
> I'll never forget my very first meeting as brand new President of the Willamette Valley Beekeepers Association a million years ago.
> I walked up to the pulpit, welcomed everyone and asked, "How are your bees looking?"
> ...


I love this story. I nominate it for the 2015 Post of the Year competition.


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

sqkcrk said:


> I rotate mine.


90 degrees?


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

What if I just flipped my hives upside down? That would reduce swarming, wouldn't it?


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

clyderoad said:


> 90 degrees?


No clyde. 90 degrees is a quarter turn, not a rotation. Didn't anyone ever tell you to sit on it and rotate?


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

only flip them upside down for various reasons when it seems beneficial.


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

In my haste I once put a brood box on the hive upside down 
the bees didn't like that much, cleaned the whole thing out
and started building burr comb all over the box. 
So I put it back on right side up on my next visit.
true.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

clyderoad said:


> only flip them upside down for various reasons when it seems beneficial.


Of course.

I have heard it was a way to deal with AFB because the bees will chew the comb down to the midrib and rebuild it properly.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

sqkcrk said:


> What if I just flipped my hives upside down? That would reduce swarming, wouldn't it?


Especially if you did it every 10 days.


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## beeware10 (Jul 25, 2010)

Its now just a matter of time before someone starts a thread about the benefits of putting supers on upside down. LOL


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## VitaminBee (Aug 17, 2013)

sqkcrk said:


> What if I just flipped my hives upside down? That would reduce swarming, wouldn't it?


I feel pretty confident in saying this ... Yes, this would probably be one sure-fire way to reduce swarming completely.


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## Davers (Aug 6, 2014)

Oldtimer said:


> Yes, just something simple like that. Although with Carnis, they can be real hard to control. it's actually why I stopped breeding carnis, I had so many complaints from purchasers about them swarming I switched to Italians.
> You may have to do multiple splits, and if it's more bees than you want think about selling some.


how to do you controll the breeding of pure Italians or Carnis when the Queen can fly and mate with any type of honey bee?


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

VitaminBee said:


> what indicators do you use to judge when to reverse?


I don't reverse in the strict sense of the word I pull the bottom box out because it is usually empty of bees and full of pollen. I do this when I see the bees bring in pollen. I put an empty box of drawn comb on top of the hive. Hives are 4 or 5 medium boxes. When I see nectar coming in I start adding frames with foundation. I think this is an important step because it gives the wax bees something to do. Once I see the hive has a honey cap I can then add the box that has all the old pollen and they will strip it almost immediately.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Davers said:


> how to do you controll the breeding of pure Italians or Carnis when the Queen can fly and mate with any type of honey bee?


Some have theories, but for me i pretty much can't. I just flood the mating areas with drones by giving desirable hives 3 solid drone combs. So my queens mate reasonably pure but no claims are made about just how much.


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## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

Acebird said:


> Once I see the hive has a honey cap I can then add the box that has all the old pollen and they will strip it almost immediately.



This must be a local phenomenon...


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## VitaminBee (Aug 17, 2013)

HarryVanderpool said:


> "Do you reverse boxes?"


 ...
Great story!

Harley, that is one thing I'm trying to ascertain - "typical order." What signs to look for, tying into things like dandelion bloom, etc.


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## VitaminBee (Aug 17, 2013)

Acebird said:


> I don't reverse in the strict sense of the word I pull the bottom box out because it is usually empty of bees and full of pollen. I do this when I see the bees bring in pollen. I put an empty box of drawn comb on top of the hive. Hives are 4 or 5 medium boxes. When I see nectar coming in I start adding frames with foundation. I think this is an important step because it gives the wax bees something to do. Once I see the hive has a honey cap I can then add the box that has all the old pollen and they will strip it almost immediately.


That's very helpful, Brian. As long as I've done this, I still don't know what to tie things to. Right now I've got bees at the very top of the hive but a lift tells me there is plenty of honey somewhere. Yet I've read reversing should be done when temps don't dip below freezing - which would put me way out in mid April. By then, many things will be too late to do to benefit from and the bees with most surely be in swarm mode.

I am conflicted because I really want to do bees as naturally as possible, but when I see bees all the way at the top of the hives, I'm not experienced enough to trust myself with the timing to wait to see if they go back to the bottom.


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

What are you observing that determines it is beneficial to reverse. When is replaced by what determines it will be beneficial to the hive and/or honey production?




HarryVanderpool said:


> "Do you reverse boxes?'
> 
> I'll never forget my very first meeting as brand new President of the Willamette Valley Beekeepers Association a million years ago.
> I walked up to the pulpit, welcomed everyone and asked, "How are your bees looking?"
> ...


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## VitaminBee (Aug 17, 2013)

WBVC said:


> What are you observing that determines it is beneficial to reverse. When is replaced by what determines it will be beneficial to the hive and/or honey production?


Exactly.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

VitaminBee said:


> I'm not experienced enough to trust myself with the timing to wait to see if they go back to the bottom.


Oh they will go to the bottom all right but I don't like to watch the bottom. I like to make sure they have enough room on top which is why I put boxes on one at a time instead of just throwing 3-4 boxes on all at once. I suppose you could do it by scale weight but that to me can be a PITA too. The empty box I have on the bottom is just an insurance policy in case I miss judge how fast they are filling the top box. And keep in mind I am using mediums exclusively.

I am not sure what my heavy flow is where I am. It doesn't seem to be dandelions or maple trees. It is something after dandelions possibly fruit trees. I do know that an overwintered hive goes like gangbusters compared to a first year hive so be on your toes.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

VitaminBee said:


> I am conflicted because I really want to do bees as naturally as possible, but when I see bees all the way at the top of the hives, I'm not experienced enough to trust myself with the timing to wait to see if they go back to the bottom.


VB, I don't know what things are like in AR come February 15, but in SC I will be reversing my two story hives and story and a half hives. When it's warm enough for flight, in SC, bees are bringing in some pollen even right now. If you are getting 60 degree days in AR any time soon you should see some pollen coming in too. But temps are still too cool to reverse.

In about a month more and more pollen will be coming in and temperatures will start to rise too. And certainly by midMarch there will be pollen and maybe some nectar too. Seems to me that come March 15 you should either reverse the boxes of your hive(s) or throw another deep super on them.

Do not wait until April, for sure. You want your bees working up into empty comb well before then.


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## beeware10 (Jul 25, 2010)

as every year is different you can't do beekeeping by a calendar. It just takes experience to judge a hive. when the bees are working in the bottom super they can handle being reversed. other factors such as the weather forcast etc have to be considered.


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## VitaminBee (Aug 17, 2013)

Mike Gillmore said:


> ...In early Spring when pollen starts coming in the cluster is usually up in the top 1 or 2 boxes with brood, so I'll reverse the lowest box (which is usually either empty or without brood) and move it to the top.


This sounds like a good compromise, Mike. You are in Ohio... Really cold there. What do you call early spring?


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## VitaminBee (Aug 17, 2013)

Mark, very helpful. That's what I need to hear, sort of a timetable and what factors influence the timing. Of course the bees won't stick to it, but it's a "guideline." Thank you!


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## Mike Gillmore (Feb 25, 2006)

VitaminBee said:


> This sounds like a good compromise, Mike. You are in Ohio... Really cold there. What do you call early spring?


It's a little different each year, depending on the weather, but I look for bloom patterns. 

My main objective in reversing is to slow or stop swarm preparations. In a "typical" season colonies locally begin to cast swarms at the beginning of May. Backfilling and the start of queen cells usually will start to be seen about the middle of April. So I want to reverse before we get to that point. 

At the end of March/early April the Willows are in bloom and that is usually about the time I start thinking about reversing, depending upon the strength of the colonies. By mid April the dandelion blooms are peaking and that's about the last opportunity I have to reverse before swarm prep. That's also when I usually add my first supers, so I like to do reversing before that so they have already started to work up into the reversed box with brood. Keep in mind that this could swing a couple of weeks either way in the spring. That's why I time these manipulations by blooms, rather than specific calendar dates. 

In your area, check with some local beekeepers and find out when swarms usually start up in the Spring and plan on reversing 3-4 weeks prior to that, if the colonies are built up enough. Sometimes I reverse a couple of times if they are building up really fast. Some colonies need multiple reversing, some don't. 

_Another good practice will be to record your local bloom dates every year on a chart and you will start to see some very interesting patterns. It's a great beekeeping tool._


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

All of my bees were removals. With no intervention at all, they used all the comb that was there previously to their arrival (older dark comb). My thought is that the queen will find empty space and decide to fill it with eggs whether she has to go up or down. I also believe she can pretty much walk the entire hive in a day or two. The nurse bees are going to go where the eggs are. 
I don't reverse and have yet to have a problem with swarming.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Mr.Beeman said:


> I don't reverse and have yet to have a problem with swarming.


I am curious. When you break apart the boxes do you remove the burr comb on the top and bottom bars?


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

VitaminBee said:


> Mark, very helpful. That's what I need to hear, sort of a timetable and what factors influence the timing. Of course the bees won't stick to it, but it's a "guideline." Thank you!


VB, timing has to do with what you want to do with your bees and how you want to go about doing beekeeping. And it can be a philosophy sort of thing, a way you see bees and beekeeping, and it can be an economic thing. You have to find where you fit and what makes the most sense to you. You are working with animals who respond to their environment and their circumstances and we humans are manipulating them to do what we want them to do to serve our needs.

What if we looked at things so we serve the bees needs? And see if doing so benefits us too. What do your bees need and how can you give them what they need, if you need to give them anything?

Do they need more room? Yes? Give them more room. Super them. Many of us see reversing as a way of giving bees more room without actually needing more equipment. Other people simply put another deep super on them. Which you should do midMarch, depending on how the bees look and the trending weather. And then you put on two or three honey supers, mediums or shallows.

Assuming we are talking Langstroth style equipment, tilt your hive forward or backward enough so you can see the bottoms of the bottom bars of the bottom box. See any bees hanging from those bottombars? Yes, good. No, that's alright too. Now set the hive back down and take the covers off. Do you see bees between the frames? You should, but maybe not. Maybe your bees are farther down into the hive and in cluster covering brood that spans both boxes.

Take out a couple frames and see where the brood is. Take the top box off and set it aside. Check the bottom box to see if there is any brood in those frames. You don't want to rotate the bottom box above the top box if there is a small patch of brood in the frames of the lower box if the weather might turn cold again. Because there might not bee enough heat generated by the bees on the brood which is now on the bottom board. And there might not be enough brood to attract enough bees to stay on it to keep it warm and incubating.

Say the bottom box is empty and all the brood and bees are in the top box. Switch places. The bees being, now, in the bottom and on the brood will stay there and keep incubating that brood, but will also slowly expand the brood nest.

This is basically what I do and will be doing in SC in about 3 1/2 weeks. I will be accessing the weight of the hives, hefting the hive to determine the honey stores, and checking down below as described above. I will then rotate the positions of the two deep boxes if the colony is strong and honey stores are good. If the colony is not really strong I will leave it alone for another three weeks or a month. If the hive is light I will feed it.

Once I have gone through all of my hives I will leave them alone for about three weeks. I will go back home to NY, get some work done there and return to SC mid or early March depending. Then it will be time to get hives to Blueberries and to start splitting colonies to make nucs and new hives.

Stationary beekeepers have other options which they may want to explore and utilize. Such as supering and checkerboarding supers, ala methods which Tim Ives uses. Do some Searching.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

Acebird said:


> I am curious. When you break apart the boxes do you remove the burr comb on the top and bottom bars?


Now that you mention it, I never had to remove burr comb. Wierd... but I've never had burr comb to the point that I felt the need to remove it. Now I'm perplexed.

A typical frame for the hives....


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

You may not have much burr comb if your bee space is good and you super at the right time, giving your bees a place to store honey and build comb other than between supers.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

Now... I'm not perplexed anymore. Always learning from the peeps on here.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

That could be it. Or it could be something else. But that's what comes to my mind first.


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## seapro220 (Mar 14, 2013)

I'm also located in SC and follow a lot of the principals describes above by sqkcrk.

Basically, I'm trying to judge the weather against the hive status (brood/cluster pattern, # of bees in the hive, and stored honey reserves) before I make the determination of swapping the boxes around. As we are starting to get pollen brought in from somewhere now (maybe crokas ??), I know that the queens are starting to lay more. Pollen is converted into bee bread, which is fed to the brood and causes the queen to start laying more. You need to keep a close eye on your honey reserves for the next couple of months also because as new brood begins to emerge, the 'reserves' can be consumed quickly and if careful - you can starve out your hives this time of the year. 

For instance - I have 1 hive now, that I probably will be rotating after next weeks cold snap, and might be adding another nuc box on top of 1 of my overwintered nucs - primarly to provide some more room for her to move up to. For the nuc, I'll add room up top - and not reverse it as I just want to add some more room for her to move up into. 

For some reason, with a few day of good weather - I start getting anxious and want to swap things around - but have to remember that the hive makes that determination - not me - and I only 'work' for them.


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## Hogback Honey (Oct 29, 2013)

Sqkcrk, thank you for such a simple explanation, I had the same question as the OP. Knowing what to look for is a big help. that would tell you when to do the switch.


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

I'll reverse if I catch them at the right time. If they don't move down by themselves and it's later in the season I'll just checkerboard them but sometimes you'll catch them right when the queen is moving down and that's a perfect time to reverse.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Hogback Honey said:


> Sqkcrk, thank you for such a simple explanation, I had the same question as the OP. Knowing what to look for is a big help. that would tell you when to do the switch.


My methods work well for me, for what I do with my bees, and much of that has to do with when I need them ready for pollination work in NY. So what I do may not work well for others. And I know at least one guy who would almost totally disagree with what I do. But, I'm happy enough for now.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>What if I just flipped my hives upside down? That would reduce swarming, wouldn't it?

That's the principal behind the Heddon hive and was one of the main topics of conversation in the 1886 ABJ...


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

So since space and time are circular I'm ahead of the game?


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

sqkcrk said:


> So since space and time are circular


Never heard that one before.


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## VitaminBee (Aug 17, 2013)

Wow, lots of good stuff here!



sqkcrk said:


> Assuming we are talking Langstroth style equipment, tilt your hive forward or backward enough so you can see the bottoms of the bottom bars of the bottom box.


I was wondering how the heck you could tell if the bees were in the bottom box, yet also being told don't fully open the hive yet. Man, I'm not sure I could do a tilt like this without a helper. May have to start getting the hubs to participate. 



sqkcrk said:


> This is basically what I do and will be doing in SC in about 3 1/2 weeks.


What zone is this? (I'm glad you explained going back to NY; I was scratching my head with the NY in your location. 



sqkcrk said:


> Stationary beekeepers have other options which they may want to explore and utilize. Such as supering and checkerboarding supers, ala methods which Tim Ives uses. Do some Searching.


Thank you, I'll do some targeted searching.


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## VitaminBee (Aug 17, 2013)

JRG13 said:


> but sometimes you'll catch them right when the queen is moving down and that's a perfect time to reverse.


If she IS moving down, why would you need to reverse?


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

VitaminBee said:


> What zone is this?


Sorry, SC stands for South Carolina. I don't know about Zones, only geography.


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