Very Hungry New Bees

[misfyredOhio]

I installed packages of bees yesterday (2nd year beginner). I read today on the forum about drowning bees, so I opened the top cover to double-check. I'm using top feeders. I was shocked to see that almost all of the one gallon of syrup I fed them yesterday is gone already! I'm thinking that maybe since I started with 10 frames of drawn out comb, that they are not busy with wax and are concentrating on pollen/nectar gathering. I noticed a few bees flying in with what looked like full pollen buckets of light yellow. Should I feed more syrup or are they already self-sufficient?

[Michael Bush]

They aren't actually eating it.  Just using it to make comb and then storing it.  Just keep an eye on what they are doing.  If the hive is light and there is plenty of room for the queen to lay, I'd keep feeding them.  If there is nectar coming in, you might not need to.  If the brood nest is getting filled with syrup, you need to stop.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfeeding.htm#when