Reversing My Hive in the Fall

by Joe Conlon
(Enfield, New Hampshire)

I just got 2 hives of bees in may. My neighbor said he had kept 19 hives years ago so I asked him to help me out.

I now have one hive as the other swarmed when he changed out all of my plastic frames because he said they are no good. Today he told me I have to reverse the hive bodies in the fall to make it through the winter. I have read several books on bees and cant find anywhere that I should do this. Should I take his advice or should I follow what I have learned in the books I have read.

Thank you

Hi Joe

That's the problem you have when there's someone helping you. Maybe you can try to resist his ideas if you don't agree with them by saying some things are done differently now because of Africanized bees, the Varroa mite, Colony Collapse Disorder, global warming and the trade deficit!

I think when he says reversing the hive he might mean putting supers on the bottom underneath the brood box. I think the idea is that the workers are sometimes reluctant to go up past the queen excluder to get honey during the winter.

If that's the case I might just take off the queen excluder for the winter. You run the risk of getting brood in the supers in the spring, but I don't much like the idea of putting the super on the bottom because the bees naturally store honey above the nest for a reason. I think they'll be reluctant to leave the warmth of the cluster to go down underneath the brood box for honey.

The problem is that if you ask two beekeepers a question, you'll probably get at least three different opinions.

I hope that helps.

The Bee Guy