In the management of the Modified Dadant hive, it is usual to winter the bees with a solidly full shallow super of honey, preferably with a top entrance in the brood chamber, the lower entrance closed, and, if desirable, some form of packing. In the spring when the brood nest is completely established, the shallow super may be placed underneath the hive body, making it possible to manipulate the combs of the brood chamber easily and at the same time compelling the queen to fill up the break in the brood nest which this switch produces. The honey from the shallow food chamber will be carried up into the large hive body and serve to stimulate brood rearing. Colonies so managed with this amount of honey as a food reservoir will not often need feeding before the honeyflow. The operation of the clear brood nest system in conjunction with this practice, with good queens, usually results in splendid strong producing colonies.

Shallow food chamber on top, bottom entrance closed for winter. Top entrance in handhole open.

In spring, food chamber underneath, summer entrance opened gradually.

In honeyflow, food chamber above, supers on top.

Placed below the brood chamber, the shallow food chamber gives extra clustering space during the summer; but care should be taken, sometime during the summer, to see that it is full of honey or placed above where it will be filled. If the fall flow is good and reliable, it may be replaced in its proper winter position as the main flow draws to a close, with an empty super over it. The brood chamber should, when winter comes, contain enough honey to carry the colony through the winter, so that, in the spring, the food chamber will still be so full of honey that the first brood nest will not be established in it. This removes the danger of un-seasonal spring swarming.

If it is decided to place the food chamber on top of the pile of supers, it need remain there only until the bees have begun to work well in the supers. Then it may be replaced on top of the brood chamber or moved, as suggested, to a weak colony for the summer.

This plan is good, requiring a minimum of labor and satisfactorily taking care of those colonies which, while not of standard honey-storing strength, still may be expected to store some honey if not required to begin their work in empty supers.

The fourth way in which a food chamber may be used during the summer is in requeening the parent colony. If, when removed from the brood chamber, it contains considerable brood with some larvae and eggs, it may be supplied with a bottom board and cover and placed on a new location, making sure, of course, that the queen is in the brood chamber on the old location. The details of this are given under Forced Supersedure.

If this method of requeening is liked, no other use of the food chamber will be found more profitable. Care must be used, however, to have a sufficient number of food chambers full of stores to supply all the colonies needing them.

This is a good method of handling food chambers, either shallow or full depth, and of requeening with little trouble.