Reversing brood boxes

[ConfedMarine]

Any opinions on the practice of reversing brood boxes? Does it work and how effective is it?

[Rabbitdog]

Very good signature line, I like it!

[Michael Bush]

>Any opinions on the practice of reversing brood boxes?

Sure.  :)

> Does it work and how effective is it?

Work as in prevent swarming?  If you swap brood boxes every couple of weeks you will defintely head off swarming especially if the brood nest spans the two boxes.  Is it a good idea?  I don't think so.  I'd just put some empty frames in the brood nest to open it up and expand it.  Swapping brood boxes makes them rearrange the whole brood nest.  Putting empty frames in just makes them expand it.

[Jay]

Wow, I got that one totally wrong. I thought he was talking about reversing the boxes in the spring as part of spring managment.

Do some people actually reverse brood boxes every couple of weeks as a swarm controle? I've never heard that one before.

[Michael Bush]

>Do some people actually reverse brood boxes every couple of weeks as a swarm controle? I've never heard that one before.

http://www.beekeeper.org/mar2003.htm

"YOU simply REVERSE
the position of the boxes. by removing the empty lower brood box and place it
on top of the highest brood box, so the queen now has empty laying space above her.
This should be started in late winter or very early spring, about 75 days before a good
nectar flow commences; and depending on whether you are using 2 or 3 brood boxes, the fecundity
of your queen, initial bee population, and other variables, you might have to
reverse 2, 3, or even 4 times during these 75 days. There is a danger in REVERSING, and
that is splitting the brood (i.e., one group of brood left in the TOP of a frame while there
is another group of brood left in the BOTTOM of a different frame. I STRONGLY suggest
you read my old PINK PAGES or the Hive & Honey Bee about HOW TO REVERSE.)" --George Imirie

http://www.beekeeper.org/swarming.html

[CraigW]

Michael,
When you take the frames from the brood box, how many? Then you put them in a box above the one you just took them out of, kinda like checkerboarding, correct?


Thanks,
Craig

[Michael Bush]

I run all the same sized frames.  This allows me to do whatever I feel is appropriate for the strength of the hive.  Often I simply pull some empty comb out altogether, spread the brood nest open and put in an empty frame.  Later when the hive is stronger, I may take three frames of brood up to the next box to get the queen laying in more boxes and put some empty frames in their places.  I try to keep two frames of brood together with an empty.  So it's more like BBEBBEBB rather than BEBEBEBE.  Where B is a brood frame and E is an empty frame.