We caught a swarm off of one of our hives last week with a virgin queen (the mated queen got pulled a week before they left).
Today I went in for the first time since hiving them. I had been giving them 2:1 and they are taking about a pint a day. They have drawn about 1-1.5 frames deep (foundationless) and most of this appeared to be filled with syrup. There was some pollen and most excitingly some eggs.
We are not in a "dearth" but nor is there a strong flow on. Just lots of odds and ends blooming. I was feeding them to help them get some comb drawn but now wonder if I should stop. Will a new swarm fill all it's comb to the point the queen has no space to lay?
Too much feeding can cause honeybound conditions. Typically you feed 2:1 for storage and 1:1 for brood production. I always feed my swarms 1:1. Swarms are your best comb builders in my opinion. I hived a swarm and they had 7 frames drawn in 4 days. Try a 1:1 ratio and maybe they will slow down on the stores and pickup the comb production. Just be careful not to let them get honeybound. Some folks like to feed on and off. For example, if you feed for 3 days then rest for 3 days. They will build the comb when they need it. My swarm was a big swarm. Almost a 10 frame deep worth!
Thanks joe.
I have been feeding 1:1...just a typo. We are heading out of town for 10 days tues day morning so perhaps I will just feed until then and call it good. Neither of the swarms seems particularly large...maybe a football size cluster.
I also think there may be more forage available than I initially thought, as some friends hives are picking up weight pretty quick lately. I just thought the swarms might need a bit of a hand here at the beginning.
There is so little comb yet I wouldn't call them honey bound...but they are not leaving many cells empty and the queen got mated and laying sooner than I thought she would.
even though swarms are comb building machines, bees tend to draw comb as they need it. if she was not mated and has just started laying, they will draw more to meet her needs. they will be raising brood and will need to bring in pollen. there is usually plenty of that around so you can probably safely stop feeding while you are gone and leave them room for pollen storage. check them when you get back and see how they are doing.