No Brood in 2nd Box

[TonyBOD]

New beekeeper this year - I'm really enjoying it but I don't have any expereince to draw up on yet, so I am hoping to get opinions from the folks here.

I installed a package in mid April. After 6 weeks the bees had drawn out 80-90% of the single deep I had on so I put the second deep on. After 3 weeks I went in again and the second deeps was 80-90% drawn out, but it had no brood - queen looks like she is still in the bottom box. Some honey stores in the top box, but mostly just newly-drawn comb. I had been feeding syrup so the bees would have something while they were drawing the second box, but discontinued it this weekend when I put a honey super on (a medium, and I did use a queen excluder).

Is it odd that my queen is still in the bottom box? Is there a cause for concern?

Is it OK to stop feeding syrup? On the one hand I don't want syrup in the honey super, but on the other hand the bees still need to draw that box out as it is just foundation now.

Any opinion on the queen excluder? I probably don't need it if my queen is still in the bottom box and I know that its presence could impede the workers from going into that box and drawing comb, but we have some time before the honeyflow in this area (not until late summer, I am told).

[Kathyp]

sounds like one of my hives.  if i understand you, you have two supers on for brood (deeps?) and one honey super and you are still feeding.  if they have not done anything with your second brood box, you might as well take that honey super off.  you don't want to feed and try to get honey at the same time.  sometimes you have to just concentrate on building up the hive and not worry about getting honey.

[TonyBOD]

sounds like one of my hives.  if i understand you, you have two supers on for brood (deeps?) and one honey super and you are still feeding.  if they have not done anything with your second brood box, you might as well take that honey super off.  you don't want to feed and try to get honey at the same time.  sometimes you have to just concentrate on building up the hive and not worry about getting honey.

I am no longer feeding - I stopped when I put the honey super on. They have drawn out the second box, just not "moved in" yet. I put the honey super on not expecting to get honey anytime soon, but to give them the opportunity to draw out the foundation so they have comb when there's a honeyflow later.

[Moonshae]

From what I understand (and I'm just about to add my second boxes, if Betterbee ever gets their nails delivered...*&^^*%$ them for selling frames and not specifying they don't provide nails to assemble the things they sell), it takes a population of bees to support large growth. So while they'll have drawn out the frames, until they have the bees to keep them warm, the queen won't lay in them.

[newbee101]

There are probably eggs there, you just cant see them yet. Wait 2 weeks and check.
I would bet you will have capped brood up there.