I'm new to beekeeping and just started my first hive on Sunday, May 1st. This last Sunday (one week later) I opened my hive for the first time to check feed levels and to make sure that the queen had been freed. She has and I was able to visually confirm that she is in the hive, but I have a few questions/concerns. I have one frame of drawn comb in the hive and seven more frames of wax foundation, as well as a feeder that takes up about two frames worth of space. The first thing I noticed when I opened the hive is that the bees have started building comb free-form. There was a small comb the size of a tennis ball on the inner cover as well as some thin combs between the frame of drawn comb and the next frame over (the box with the queen in it was in this space as well. Also, as I inspected the hive I noticed many cells with honey in them, but none with brood.
What should I do about the comb that they are building between the frames, and should I be concerned about not seeing any brood? We are getting some rainy weather this week but I am planning on taking another look when it clears up at the end of the week or weekend.
Thanks in advance!
If you bought a package or nuc the queen should be mated. Can you identify eggs in the cells?
If the bees don't have the correct 'beespace' they'll build rogue comb. Sound like you have too much space between frames (is the rogue comb being built hanging from the lid/inner cover down between the frames?)
Typically, when you install a package, the queen cage is hung between frames. If you propped the cage between the top bars then the spacing between frames was too big. The bees cluster around the queen and will often start building comb form the queen cage or the space around it. With the frames too far apart the bees will add an extra comb between frames. That is the reason for removing the queen cage as soon as possible. You will want to fix(get rid of) any wonky comb asap.
>Also, as I inspected the hive I noticed many cells with honey in them, but none with brood.
I assume that you meant nectar. Remember they need nectar and pollen to raise the brood. After one week there should be some brood but they are still small and are easily missed. When you next check on them the brood should be easier to see.
Thanks. When I suspended the Queen box between the frame of drawn comb and the frame with foundation it created a larger gap between them. I'll open the hive again this week when the weather clears and clean out the comb. I did get them as a package so the Queen should be mated. I'll see if I can see eggs when I open it. Thanks for the help. I wasn't sure what to do about the comb they were building between the frames.
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Remove the rogue comb and squeeze all frames tightly together and centered in the hive. If there is room for another frame, install it. NEVER give bees free space. They hate frames and will always use free space first.