Honey super question

[Dange]

I have had a honey super on for about a week and a half. I placed this on top of the deeps. When I checked it last night there wasn't many bees in it. Very very little comb building going on there. I have two deeps that are completely full. When I added the honey super all but two frames of the second deep were filled out, plus I sprayed the frames with 1:1 syrup. The bees have been bearding also. What I am concerned about is if they back fill the brood nest and want to swarm.  My queen is a great queen and dont want to loose her. I made an upper entrance in the inner cover but they are not using it just guarding it. So my question is how do I get them up there? Help. Newbee. Thanks.

[fish_stix]

If you have an excluder on them take it off until they get the super frames drawn. If the queen moves up and lays eggs in the super then replace the excluder after they've drawn out the frames, and after making sure the queen is down below. The brood will emerge and you'll have a honey super again.

[Dange]

Nope no excluder on. Which has me worried even more.

[Kathyp]

what does your lower deep have in it?  you say full, but full of what?  sometimes they fool you and fill the top deep leaving the lower one pretty empty.  then they will work on the lower one before they will work on a honey super.

what are you using for foundation in the honey super?

[Dange]

Bottom mostly brood but outside frames are full of honey or syrup. The second is full of honey with four middle frames that were brood. This observation is as of a week ago. I stopped feeding when the second was half drawn because they stopped taking it.

[Dange]

Also for foundation I am using plastic with beeswax coating.

[Kathyp]

you said "very little comb building".  if they are building comb at all, it is because they intend to use it.  i'd keep an eye on it, but not worry to much.  there may not be enough coming in for them to work on it a lot.  watch your brood area and make sure there is space.  you could pull a couple of those honey frames in the top deep and replace them with drawn comb (if you have it).  foundation if you don't.  if they need room for her to lay, that gives them a couple more frames and you can watch better.

[Dange]

Two deep supers and medium honey super though. :-\

[Finski]

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In his case you must rearrange the frames.

Take off all boxes. Inspect the brood area, precence of queen and  swarm cells.

First, take capped honey away and extract them

put in lowest box pollen frames on sides and then brood frames.
Take upstairs all honey frames.

If the hive has no space to lay, put some foundations between brood frames

Obove the brood frames put foundations in one group.

Then ne box of nectar frames and the partly capped frames.


Take care that bees have allways combs where to put new nectar.

Extract the honey and return them above foundation box.

[BlueBee]

I agree with Finski, but I have to admit the plastic foundation could also be an issue.  

I have had a heck of a time getting my fat bees to draw out the small cell plastic frames/foundation.  They simply won't do it in my hives.  If I put in larger (standard) cell plastic, or wax, or foundationless, they build comb like mad men (make that girls).  I'm going to try re-waxing like Bee Bop has suggested, but so far no dice.

What kind of foundation are your deep brood frames?  Are they different than your supers?      

[Dange]

Same foundation. I inspectednthe hive this morning. I have eggs larva and I even saw the queen. Some back fill but I think I'll be alright. What I was thinking is moving to all mediums. So what I was thinking of was to put the medium in between the two deeps. There was some brood in the lower portions of the second deep. Is this a bad idea? The second deep is three quarters honey tho. Would this be to much to try and overwinter? Also when I Checked no swarm cells just three queen cups that I inspected that had no eggs in.thanks