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Message: <blockquote data-quote="tristan" data-source="post: 9455" data-attributes="member: 30">yes.with single FD brood box its already undersized and any honey stored in there will get in the way as the brood expands in spring.double FD not quite so critical but i have seen it with very full boxes.one common rookie mistake is lack of supers and often the result is honey filled brood boxes. that restricts brood numbers and hive will decline in numbers to early. having an understrength hive during robbing season makes it vulnerable, plus weak hives going into winter are less likely to survive.so removing honey out of the brood aera is a good thing, plus it doubles as your frame rotation. however when shutting down for winter you want to them to pack in the last of the seasons honey so you don't need so many honey supers for winter stores on the hive.so for me in spring its lift honey up. lift any up in summer to keep the brood space open if required. then harvest before season ends, drop them down to single FD brood box and let them pack the last of the flow in.  that keeps hive small, easy to defend, and well populated as the bee numbers decline after the end of the season.keep in mind i'm not in CHCH so things may well be a bit different.</blockquote>

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