I don't understand this behavior

[AdmiralD]

In the process to find out if there was more honey in the hive, I kept finding the queen laying eggs in the supers. I torn down the hive to the bottom broad chambers and found....not a cell being use...not for brood nor for storage of honey/pollen....

Why is that?

So, I switched the bottom and the next brood chamber around in the hopes of building up the hive some more...Althogh, due to the season, and the slow down of nectar, I suspect that the building up of brood is over.
 
I know that I am to trust the bees more, but....did I do this right?

[Jerrymac]

My understanding is the bees move up. Everything goes to the top. The workers finally force the queen down by placing the honey in the top and working down. Perhaps you haven't had all that much nectar flow, there fore the bees can't get the queen down

Probably what will happen now is the queen will work her way back up and the bottom box will be empty again.

[Jerrymac]

I have seen this behavior in all the colonies I've taken out of walls. The lower part of the hive is empty. The very top is loaded with honey, then a little pollen, then the brood, then empty cells.

[Michael Bush]

Actually, in a tree or a house or whatever, the bees start at the top and move down.  They cluster and build combs at the highest point and extend them dowards until they run out of room.  When the space is all filled and they are using stores, they tend to use the stores down low first and leave it empty unless they need the room.  If you keep adding space on the top, they may not bother to fill the space down below.  If you move the boxes from down below up where they are filling it with honey they probably will fill it with honey. If you put the empty space between the honey and the current brood chamber they may move up and use it for brood or they may fill it with honey.  If they fill it with honey you'll have stores for the winter.  If they fill it with brood you'll have young bees for the winter.