After feeding my two hives 1:1 syrup since they were set-up (April 20), an inspection two weeks ago found that they might be getting honey bound since 6-7 frames of capped honey were in the second hive body of both hives. I check both hives for swarm cells and found none. Both hives consist of two deeps and one medium with no queen excluder. So, I stopped feeding them two weeks ago.
An inspection yesterday revealed that 4 of the 6-7 frames of capped honey had been emptied of honey and were be used as brood comb with various stages of larvae and capped brood with a crescent of honey and pollen at the tops of the frames. Unfortunately, in the second hive only two honey capped frames had been emptied and were being used as brood comb. I checked both hives for queen swarm cells and found none. Both hives had some drone cells and both were very calm. I did not use a lot of smoke. The whole time during the inspection, most bees just hung out peeking from the top of the frame.
But I was surprised by the number of bees! Both hives were heavy with bees. The medium super had only about 10% of the foundation drawn out with some nectar and a lot of bees. I have been concerned in the past that there were a lot of bees on the outside of the hives as well.
Is it normal to have so many bees inside and outside of the hive (see pictures)?
(http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/318/dscf3837dc6.th.jpg) (http://img413.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf3837dc6.jpg)
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I think you really need to prop the lids open on the top to let the heat out and give the bees a second entrance to use.If you're using a entrance rducer,i would remove it.
Oh, yeah............I forgot to mention that I have 3/8 in shims under the inner cover at the back so the hot air can exit. The bees also use this gap as an upper entrance (kinda hidden because the telescope top hides it somewhat). The tele top has been pulled back so the bees can come and go as they please from the rear as well as the front. Note the bees gobbed on the sides towards the rear.
I agree that you need more ventilation. I started two hives this spring as a new beez and over fed them to the point of a swarm in one of the hives. That hive now has a virgin queen and I found eggs yesterday for the first time with the new queen. The other hive is doing well but I did find swarm cells there last weekend. There were still a ton of bees so I culled the swarm cells and added a second honey super. So far so good. I'll inspect some afternoon this week for more swarm cells. Basically I learned that while all the books tell you to feed, feed and feed some more, the bees don't read and do what they want any way. Make sure they have room and better ventilation. Check out Michael Bushs' website for info on top entrances bushfarms.com I also am using screened bottom boards which seems to help too.
Good luck,
GJP
God bless America do they need more ventilation!!! I would ventilate and prob add another super as well.
...JP
Add more supers, prop the lids and/or do splits...
I would super and add a slatted rack. A slatted rack gives a place for the idle bees to be productive by either getting out of the way or fanning (moving air through the hive, or just hang out. The super will give the bees more space and set them to working building more comb. To help pull the 2 & 9 frames and put into the super, if done timely this will qwell the swarm tendency. Pulling the 2 & 9 frames is usually the edge of the brood area (drone frames) and also serves to bait the super. If you're using deeps for brood and mediums for supers just do the best you can, and kick yourself for not going all mediums.
Thanks everyone!
I had 3/8 inch shims under the back edge of the medium super (in between the medium super and the second brood body) but I still had this massing problem on the front of the hives. Only this past weekend, did I move the shims up on top of the medium super (in between the top of the super and the inner cover) and placed the tele-top on top of the inner cover.
The medium super that's on top has been on the hives for 5 weeks and very little drawing has occurred. And I have read that a second super should not be added until the previous super is 70% or so drawn into comb. Is the thought with adding a second medium super just to give them more space to get into the hive?
I could add another deep with foundation if the group here thinks that would be a better way to go than adding a medium (since I cannot swap frames from the deeps and the current medium). If so, how would I get the bees out of the current medium and into the third deep?
Thanks everyone!
sounds like you need to bait them into that super. Take the second frames in on the top box that is drawn and move them up to center of the super and replace the removed frames with the frames from the super.
On ventilation: Always, always put you ventilation at the top most part of the hive--that's directly under the cover. It doesn't work near as well otherwise.