I have been reading around a bit and want to make sure I am on the right path...
I am in upstate NY. Seem to have had a decent flow of recent past with many things including fruit trees being in bloom. I installed two nucs early May, moving them into 10 frame deeps. About two weeks ago added the second deep. Monday inspection showed they were starting to draw out comb on in the second deep but had a far way to go before completion. I have been feeding both 1:1 in a hive top feed since day under going under the idea that I needed to feed until they stopped taking it OR until the comb was drawn and I was getting ready to add a super.
Hive one is still taking the feed, but not as much as before. All seems well with the hive.
Hive two... 10 plus supercedure cells, still with young larva. Probably swamred on my at some point although the the closed cells are in the top 2/3s of the frame for whatever that's worth... This hive is taking feed, 2x as much as the first hive.
I am starting to think that the extra feed is A. Stimulating swarming activity, but I am two new to really know why...
And second, I am sure they are storing this in all of the drawn out comb that the queen should be using and possible causing them to be nectar bound.
Probably weeks too late but should I remove the feeders during my next inspection (2 days) or continue to keep them in place until all comb is drawn?
If you have 10 cells it is probably a swarm situation, not supersedure. Supersedure is usually around 6 cells. The number of cells and the time of the year tell more about the bees intent than do the location of the cells on the frame.
Anytime in the spring that you feed it increases the chance of the colony swarming. If the queen is still in the hive you can make a division taking her and a few frames of brood away. If she has already swarmed, in good weather she usually goes about the time the first queen cell is capped, you need to remove all the queen cells but one. Pick a large cell up in the center of the frame for the queen to stay and head the colony.
A hive top feeder is good for giving a large amount of feed in a short time, they are not the best for having comb drawn. Once the bees are producing wax what is needed is a feeder that will "trickle" feed the colony. You want the bees to have enough syrup to keep wax production, but not enough to fill the cells faster than the queen can lay in them. A quart jar with 2 to 4 holes in the lid placed over the hole in the inner cover and covered with an empty super is good for trickle feeding. Usually bees will slow or stop taking syrup when there is a nectar flow strong enough to cause them to make wax and store nectar. If they still take syrup I would trickle feed until the comb is drawn.
Quote from: RustyUPNY on June 02, 2016, 09:08:15 AM
Hive two... 10 plus supercedure cells, still with young larva. Probably swamred on my at some point although the the closed cells are in the top 2/3s of the frame for whatever that's worth... This hive is taking feed, 2x as much as the first hive.
The "typical" swarm cells are usually at the bottom. But not always the case. With 10+ cells it sounds like something happened to the queen and they were making due with what they had. Did you notice a drop in the number of bees(sign that they swarmed)?
Quote from: RustyUPNY on June 02, 2016, 09:08:15 AM
I am starting to think that the extra feed is A. Stimulating swarming activity, but I am two new to really know why...
And second, I am sure they are storing this in all of the drawn out comb that the queen should be using and possible causing them to be nectar bound.
Yes, probably. Why? It's only natural for the bees this time of year to want to reproduce. Give them a little too much of what they need and that's what they will do. This time of year it's and balance between giving they enough to grow and giving them too much to swarm. Later in the fall after they have kicked the drones out you won't have that problem. Everything you feed them will be stored for winter.
I don't usually feed nucs, at least not for long. As long as they have enough stores to start with and there is stuff blooming, I usually let them fend for themselves.
Quote from: RustyUPNY on June 02, 2016, 09:08:15 AM
Probably weeks too late but should I remove the feeders during my next inspection (2 days) or continue to keep them in place until all comb is drawn?
I would say yes. Especially if they have plenty already stored in the frames.