2nd deep only water ? ?

[MikeyN.C.]

Added 2nd,10 frame deep,3 weeks ago,lo,oked_in top box,looks like all water in 8 frames drawn out,lots of bees in bottom box,are they just using top box for cooling. ? ?

[Kathyp]

nectar.  It can be thin and look like water.  let them cure it.

Taste it.

[biggraham610]

X2, what Kathy said. This year nectar here has been very thin, and quite the flavor bouquet......

[BeeMaster2]

What Kathy said. Lean the frame sideways and see if it falls out. If not give it a little shake.  If it falls out, it is a sure sign you have a flow on. You only want to do it to the point that a little falls out. It takes a lot of work just to fill one cell.
Jim

[Dallasbeek]

What Kathy said. Lean the frame sideways and see if it falls out. If not give it a little shake.  If it falls out, it is a sure sign you have a flow on. You only want to do it to the point that a little falls out. It takes a lot of work just to fill one cell.
Jim

Jim, if a bee produces 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime,  how much nectar do you figure has to be collected to make that 1/12 of a teaspoon?  I know it takes about 28 gallons of maple sap to make one gallon of maple syrup, so I'd figure honey has to be refined to about the same proportions.  Figure collecting that much nectar and then all those bees fanning air over the nectar to dry it, you're sure right that it takes a lot of work to fill one cell.  Honeybees are the hardest working critters around, seems to me.

[BeeMaster2]

Dallas,
Most nectar starts.out at about 60 to 80 % water and the bees have to bring that down to below 18%.
When you do the math, a bee has to bring in 3.77 teaspoons of nectar to make that honey.


.833 teaspoon times 80 divided by 18 equals 3.7 teaspoons of nectar per bee.

[MikeyN.C.]

They're still taking syrup and no. eggs in 2nd deep. ? ?

[Dallasbeek]

Dallas,
Most nectar starts.out at about 60 to 80 % water and the bees have to bring that down to below 18%.
When you do the math, a bee has to bring in 3.77 teaspoons of nectar to make that honey.


.833 teaspoon times 80 divided by 18 equals 3.7 teaspoons of nectar per bee.

That means a lot of trips to the flowers, doesn't it?

Gary

[rookie2531]

That would be about 4 trips for my girls. I think they are pigs, instead of bees. I filled 3 buckets with 2 gallon each. 6 gallons gone in about 8-10 hours.

[richter1978]

They're still taking syrup and no. eggs in 2nd deep. ? ?

My double deep setups seem to only briefly use both boxes for brood, then they move into one or the other and store nectar/pollen in the other.  My feeling is that once the buildup is done and the flow is underway or slowing down, they go into storage only mode. I have read that a queen raised after the solstice has a greater laying rate, I wonder if they would use both deeps for brood then? Might be diff. in the Carolinas though.

[tjc1]

My double deep setups seem to only briefly use both boxes for brood, then they move into one or the other and store nectar/pollen in the other.  My feeling is that once the buildup is done and the flow is underway or slowing down, they go into storage only mode. I have read that a queen raised after the solstice has a greater laying rate, I wonder if they would use both deeps for brood then? Might be diff. in the Carolinas though.
[/quote]

Interested to hear that - this has been my experience, too, but I have never heard anyone else say so.

[YpsiBee2015]

Are you feeding them?

I am feeding some hives 2:1 because they have had some issues.... They all of a sudden have frames full of "water" which I figured was actually Syrup, not nectar.

All- Do they store syrup too?

[rookie2531]

Are you feeding them?

I am feeding some hives 2:1 because they have had some issues.... They all of a sudden have frames full of "water" which I figured was actually Syrup, not nectar.

All- Do they store syrup too?

Yes, they store syrup.

[YpsiBee2015]

Are you feeding them?

I am feeding some hives 2:1 because they have had some issues.... They all of a sudden have frames full of "water" which I figured was actually Syrup, not nectar.

All- Do they store syrup too?

Yes, they store syrup.

Is that particularly bad?

[Dallasbeek]

Only if you are wanting to use or sell honey