How many Boxes should your Hive have in the Winter?

As cooler weather approaches, beekeepers need to decide how their colonies will be set up for winter survival. While there’s no single “right” configuration, understanding the pros, cons, and management needs of different setups can help ensure your bees head into the cold season strong.

Brood Box Basics

When we talk about fall and winter configurations, we’re focusing on the brood nest—the space where the queen lays eggs and brood is raised—not honey supers. A strong queen at peak laying can fill 8–10 deep frames with brood. Beyond that, bees need space for honey stores, especially going into winter.

General rules of thumb:

1.      Outside of peak honey flow, aim for 30–40 lbs. of excess honey or syrup stored in a second brood box.

2.      Between January and September, if the top box is 80% full of bees or honey, add another box.

3.      From October through December, if an upper box is 25% or less full, remove it for storage.

Single Deep

• Pros: Requires less equipment, can produce more harvestable honey, simpler setup
• Cons: Greater risk of overheating in warm climates, higher swarming potential, more frequent feeding in summer and winter

Deep + Medium

• Pros: Balanced space for brood and honey storage, medium is lighter to lift, good for small-scale beekeepers
• Cons: Slightly trickier for spring splits, slightly higher swarming risk than double deeps

Double Deep

• Pros: Ample space for brood and honey, easier spring splits, fewer inspections needed—good if you can’t check hives often
• Cons: Heavy boxes when full, may store more honey than you can harvest, common for commercial operations

Avoiding Extremes

Too many boxes after honey flow can lead to under-occupied space, increasing risks from pests like wax moths and small hive beetles, or causing “chimneying,” where bees only occupy the center frames. Too few boxes can result in swarming, honey-bound brood nests, overheating, or insufficient winter stores.

Overwintering Guidelines

Going into fall, if each box is 30–40% full of bees or honey, it can usually be left on through winter. If a box is mostly empty by early October, remove it. Single-deep overwintering is possible with strong populations and careful monitoring—check every 2–3 weeks to ensure that 3–4 frames of honey remain, supplementing feed if needed.

Bottom Line

For most small-scale beekeepers, a deep plus a medium offers the perfect balance of space and manageability. Double deeps work well if you want more buffer room, while singles require more hands-on management. Whatever your choice, aim for strong populations, adequate stores, and configurations you can manage comfortably all season long.