Seventy-two Hours

[GeeBeeNC]

I had my first hive of bees delivered to me on Wednesday night.  Italians in a deep.  There are six frames of brood, four of nectar and lots of bees.  I didn't want them in a deep but to get an established hive for $75 delivered to my yard I thought it was worth it.  The bees were in my equipment for a week before I got them and were fed syrup for that week.  On Thursday I went in the hive for a look, changed the bottom board to an SBB and added a medium on top(wax foundation no drawn comb).  I pulled the syrup on Friday since they seemed to be coming and going well.  Cotton and soybeans are in bloom here.  They had used over a pint from Wednesday night and Friday morning.  Is there any reason why I should keep syrup on them?

And my biggest issue; I've haad them for seventy-two hours and only have 6,723 named.  I can't think of any more girls names!  Any suggestions?

OK, I admit I'm enjoying watching them so much I just have to talk to someone about them.  I am wondering about feeding though.

GeeB

[FordGuy]

the experienced beekeeperswill probably have some good advice...if they were mine, I'd put sugar on them since it is so late in the year, since you put foundation on them, and since you say they are in one deep.   best to have more than that to go into winter.

[manowar422]

FordGuy's advice is sound IMO

Keep feeding them so they can draw comb out from
the new foundation. You are located in the south, so
you have a enough time to feed enough to them.

The idea is for the bees to put up enough stores to
get them through the winter. Feed them no matter
what natural nectar seems availible.

When the weather begins to cool off, feed 2:1 syrup.

When they begin flying next spring, feed them 1:1 syrup.

Keep an eye on the comb building, if they draw out comb
on 70% of the foundation on this newest box, put on another one!

Good luck!

[thegolfpsycho]

If you have irrigated crops in bloom, I wouldn't feed them.  Let them work for a living.  When the flow peters out, if you don't have enough stores on them, then feed them.  I think one of the biggest problems new beekeepers have is knowing when to feed, when to stop feeding.   No point in keeping welfare bees.  With a flow going on, they will probably expand the brood nest into the medium.  They will squeeze the queen back down as they winter up.  There are some other posts on the forum that describe the results of feeding them too much.  They fill the comb with sugar honey, they crowd the queen and swarm, the colony doesn't expand and get strong because they don't have room.  Of course, I don't know when winter gets to your neck of the woods, but I thought cotton likes it hot.  I would think winter is a little ways off.

[Apis629]

I fed my bees untill they drew out four frames of foundation.  At that point clover was in full bloom and I just didn't see the reason to attract ants by feeding them.

[GeeBeeNC]

To add a little more info:

You are right about cotton country.  We are in USDA Hardness zone 8.  We swim here into early October, so winter is a ways off and not severe at that.  We just finished a lull in the nectar flow that occurs here in July.  

I must say that I don't understand the logic of feeding during a flow.  Doesn't feeding divert them from gathering and instead they store the syrup?  What's the advantage to feeding now while there is a flow instead of later if and only if these flows don't supply enough for winter?

The literature that I have read so far tells how to start a package hive in the spring but doesn't deal with adopting an established hive or with the summer splits we have here in the south.  Anyone have a suggestion for a good title that discusses these issues?  I haven't read any of Dr. Delaplane's writing although I have seen his video series that runs on RFD TV.  He's further south than I am but is far enough inland that he is in Zone 7.

So, any thoughts?

[Jerrymac]

I started this my first year of bee keeping by capturing colonies. My first was back in Febuary. I kept what honey they had and let them rob out the old combs. I placed a feeder jar for them also and they didn't take very much of it. None of my bees seemed to like the sugar water much. I always had their honey from the hives I took them from and would let them rob it out. From the first colony back in Feburary there has been enough pollen for them to gather.

Besides the little suger water I have tried to feed them, most of that going to waste, I haven't had to worry about them finding their own food.

Also they never seemed to draw any comb until they need it. No matter how much syrup was available.

[newbee101]

How about Mabel?

[manowar422]

I must say that I don't understand the logic of feeding during a flow. Doesn't feeding divert them from gathering and instead they store the syrup? What's the advantage to feeding now while there is a flow instead of later if and only if these flows don't supply enough for winter?

GeeBeeNC,
My first concern is that your bees don't starve.
If you have a flow going, good. Your bees will
gather what is availible until it dries up.
My bees have never stopped foraging when I
have sugar water on the inner cover.
My question is this, what happens If the current
flow doesn't last long enough for them to draw comb
AND ripen honey for winter food?
If they don't draw the comb to have a place to store
nectar, and then ripen and cap it, they may last through
winter and then starve in the spring before the season begins.

IMO your choice is getting a few bees through 'til next
spring, over starve out a larger population of bees because
you are worried about the queen having enough room to lay.

[GeeBeeNC]

what happens If the current
flow doesn't last long enough for them to draw comb
AND ripen honey for winter food?

Isn't that the time to feed them instead of now?

[manowar422]

Isn't that the time to feed them instead of now?

We'll have to agree to disagree I guess.
I hope my advice turns out to be wrong and that your bees
will do well come spring. :)