Many of us that started with new colonies are about to put our supers on. We are supposed to do a reversal right then, right.
If the top box is heavy with honey, it is too late to do a reversal. The heavy box of honey will be the bees winter honey stores. If you put that heavy box on the bottom, the bees will tend to keep more brood in the upper boxes. Then as winter comes on and the bees need more food, their main food stores are in the bottom of the hive. The bees will not move down to get the honey in the winter and they will starve.
One thing that could be done, is to go into the lower box and look for a frame of pollen. Take that frame of pollen, even if there is brood on the frame and put it in the center of the top box.
Then in February, when the queen is ready to start laying, the bees can uncap the honey covering the pollen and they will have pollen for early spring, before pollen patties are on the hive.
