Hey all,
I put second deep boxes on my two hives about 2 weeks ago, on or around the 1st of June after both had reached about 7 full frames and were working on filling out the rest. My last two inspections have shown that while there are 100+ bees investigating the upper boxes, neither colony has made a decisive move to expand.
Should I just sit back and let them do their thing at their own pace? Should I remove the upper boxes until they're more ready?
not sure of the nectar flow situation there, but here in Maryland, it's coming to a close and they aren't drawing out comb as fast as they were. how much honey is there compared to brood?
-Steve
You could also take a couple of frames of sealed brood from the lower box and stick them in the middle of the upper box. This should help to draw the queen and other bees up as well. If there isn't much flowing right now give them some sugar syrup to help them draw out the comb.
Dennis
Same here, honeyflow is slowing down, expansion is slowing way down too.
Quote from: asciibaron on June 16, 2008, 03:27:34 PM
not sure of the nectar flow situation there, but here in Maryland, it's coming to a close and they aren't drawing out comb as fast as they were. how much honey is there compared to brood?
-Steve
Not sure how the flow situation is here. I'm a new beek and it's hard for me to judge. Plus, I have backyard hives and the neighborhood I am in could be different than the outlying farms. In both hives, there is a good crown of capped honey on 6+ frames and the outermost are most all honey or nectar.
With the hot weather we've been having it's possible they don't have the foraging to make it work. I'll try a jar of sugar syrup to boost them drawing out the frames. Thanks all!
Hi Rex,
If this is a new package keep feeding and don't stop until they have drawn out the top box.
Cheers,
Patrick