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British Beekeepers Association Official Forum 

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  • General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #9988  by mikemadf
 11 Feb 2021, 11:42
I have used Langstroth jumbos and nucs for teh past 5 years.

Easy to handle.. very few time need to move the Brood Box.
Easy to DIY.
My bees fill an entire jumbo box with brood in Spring.(all hives poly or wood +poly insulation.

Local season is short (usually rains July and over by end July) so big colonies are best. No ivy or arable crops of any type.. Edge of Peak District 150meters up.
I average 50lbs/honey per colony.
HTH
 #9990  by AdamD
 11 Feb 2021, 11:55
You can get 14 x 12 brood boxes for WBC's. Just a thought!
[*]However I tried 14 x 12's and didn't like them myself. Often the comb in the bottom third of the frames gets quite droney and holey and chewed through, in my experience.
[*]I do, on occasions tip up the top brood box to look for queencells. It's not 100% reliable but if you have too many colonies to look after ..... it's a option.
[*]If you have a brood frame which is modified to have super foundation in the top 2/3rds and a bar across with the bottom third left for drone brood to be drawn, (for drone brood removal/uncapping) you will often find queencells drawn from the bar 2/3rds of the way down.