# Bees work down.



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Bees work down so I got to wondering why we set a box of foundation on top of the box they have been working on since the spring package/nuc/ swarm arrived.

Remembering several years ago when I could not get the girls to draw out foundation on some honey supers. An old timer told me to place them between the brood chamber for about 7 days. It worked at getting them started.

I am now conducting an experimit by placeing 10 frames of wax foundation under the box they have been working on since spring on 5 colonies.
In the same yard I am placeing the 10 frames of foundation in the box above what they have been working on. The colonies are about the same size so in a couple of weeks we will see what works best.

 Al


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## cathleenc (Aug 16, 2007)

Michael Bush has written about that on his site - interesting stuff! Interesting to start wondering why beekeeping is organized in only one way (vertical, 10 frames, etc) and then compare it to bees in the wild and how they create hives, manage them, live. Fun to read and learn about folks trying things a little different.


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## tom j (Apr 3, 2009)

Al I have thought about that to ,,, but just thought there has to be a reason ,its done this way .... so far the things I went off on my own with , did not turn out not so good ...
but that hasn't stopped me , I get a wild hair and give things a try ,,every now and then .. Let us know how it goes ..


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## Michael Bush (Oct 26, 2008)

Why is easy, you don't have to lift to put them on top and you don't have to lift to see if they are full and need another box. That and the myth that they prefer to work up...


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Any one who has watched foundation being drawn knows about the working up myth. they always start working at the top of the foundation and go down.
Yup I think it is the lifting to install and again the lifting to check.

 Al


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

It was 30 days yesterday since I gave the 5 colonies one deep each with 10 frames of wax foundation.
The three that had the deeps placed on the bottom have it all drawn out with 4 frames full of honey and pollen either all on one side or some what divided. Those queens also seem to really like to lay eggs in that newly drawn comb as it was nearly top to bottom full of brood.

The two that had the foundation placed on top are not doing so well. They both had only 7 frames fully drawn and eggs and brood in them. The other 3 frames were either being worked on or to the point they didn't appear to be worked at all.
I left them as they were for another week to see if they will finish the job as they are.

 Al


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## tom j (Apr 3, 2009)

Al ,,, are the girls building ,, doing ok yet ???? 
the part I never quite got was ,, 
> In the spring move the top box ( were the queen and most of the bees
are found in the spring ) to the bottom ,, and put the bottom box on top ..
I have been told why , to do this , but again they work there way down in the spring hive , in the wild ..
up in the winter ,, down in spring , summer 
but then I'm just a four year old newbee


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## Iddee (Sep 25, 2005)

>>>>In the spring move the top box ( were the queen and most of the bees
are found in the spring ) to the bottom ,, and put the bottom box on top<<<<

WHY is very simple. It makes the beek feel better. He thinks he is doing something useful. The bees, on the other hand, are going to continue doing what they want.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Since we northerns sit around all winter and get fat it is a way to get outside and move weighted boxes around for excersize.

But really in the north when we have a streach of warm weather then cold again it is a way to get the girls back on the bottom quick so if a streach of cold arrives for several weeks they have honey they didn't use in the bottom box above them again.

There ar a lot of myths out there about bee keeping and the only way to sort them out is do your own expermints.

Our girls are doing great for the most part.

One yard though we do have a problem with. We have lost 75% of the colonies there during the summer. the remaining colonies had no honey in the honey supers despite the supers being on before the fruit trees bloomed. We have had bees in that yard for several years with a good harvest every year, but some thing has changed for sure. Did the land owner change the spray he uses on his apple trees? Did the huge dairy farmer neighbour change a pestiside he used theis year? 

 Al


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