Summer feeding for building comb?

dunc101 · July 06, 2019, 03:34:11 PM

Hi all! I installed my first package of bees in mid April and they seem to be doing well. The bottom brood box is pretty much full and I put another deep super on top of the first one. I installed wax frames in both. My question is-would it help to put my top feeder on to help them build comb in the top deep super? I really don't know a about nectar flows but the flowers are really doing well around here. I appreciate any input.

Oldbeavo · July 06, 2019, 08:57:53 PM

Bees build comb to store XS nectar, bees use 4-5 units of nectar to live and reproduce, and store 1.
If you consider this then you will have to feed a lot of syrup to convince the bees to build comb to store the XS.
Most of the time bees prefer nectar if it is available, to sugar syrup, so they may use it or not.
If the blossom is good in your area, then they may be still filling the bottom box, so don't need the super yet.
In 10 weeks You would have to be on a big flow for a package of bees to fill the bottom box with bees and honey, No new bees were added to your hive for 3 weeks till the first eggs hatched, they did their hive duties and weren't workers for 4+ weeks.
If your package had to build comb then that is another use of nectar and so a lot of nectar went into comb rather than being stored.
Patience, the bees know what they are doing.

dunc101 · July 06, 2019, 10:29:35 PM

Thanks a bunch for the advice oldbeavo. I'm going to do a 2 week inspection on the hive tomorrow and will try to post some pictures of what I've got in the hive. I really do appreciate the advice.

Beeboy01 · July 06, 2019, 10:44:35 PM

Wax production is done by the younger house bees not the field bees. Feeding a new hive will stimulate brood but it takes time for the brood to build up enough house bees for wax production. I would keep a feeder on the hive just to help stimulate brood production and draw out the foundation unless you want a honey crop which depends on the flow.

dunc101 · July 06, 2019, 11:21:15 PM

Thanks-I will put my feeder on tomorrow! From what I can gather the nectar flow has been good in east Tennessee this year. I would like to get some honey this year (impatient!!!!) but from what I've read, the bees need the extra honey for winter. I will try and post some pictures of the lower frames if someone could take a look at them and tell me how they appear to a veteran beek.

incognito · July 07, 2019, 10:49:52 AM

Quote from: dunc101 on July 06, 2019, 03:34:11 PM
would it help to put my top feeder on to help them build comb in the top deep super?

Absolutely!

I am also new to this so my package of bees started with foundation - no drawn comb. I am told that the colony should have 2 deeps and a medium to make it through the winter in my climate. So my first year game plan includes feeding until I have drawn comb in almost all of the 30 frames and not harvesting any honey unless I can add more medium supers.

Last week I switched to a top feeder because the medium frames were not yet drawn and they were going through a 2 quart mason jar of syrup each day after I removed a one gallon frame feeder. This feeder also allows for ventilation through the inner cover, which was blocked by the jar feeder. https://www.mannlakeltd.com/shop-all-categories/hive-colony-maintenance/feeders/top-feeders I am giving the colony one gallon of syrup each day and they are consuming / storing it. The top feeder is packed with feeding bees. More bees can simultaneously feed from the top feeder compared to the jar lid. I would be thrilled if they were using the syrup to build comb and not storing it, but I can only give then the material to work with.

I will inspect weekly to make sure that the queen has enough space to lay eggs, and that the brood cells are not being filled with syrup.

My one concern with this feeder is attracting robbers. I have been told that we enter into a dearth in July in my area. This feeder must give off more scent than the jar or frame feeders I was using. I will closely monitor the activity outside the hive for intruders.

dunc101 · July 07, 2019, 09:34:33 PM

Thanks-I did a quick check today and added the top feeder. I'll check again in a couple of weeks. The bees were really cranky today and 2 weeks ago when I checked them too???

Michael Bush · July 08, 2019, 09:24:32 AM

Keep an eye out for backfilling the brood nest. And take steps to prevent robbing. Feeding has its downsides.

dunc101 · July 11, 2019, 11:45:42 PM

Thanks! I'm not familiar with backfilling though. What to look for?

incognito · July 12, 2019, 01:45:37 AM

Quote from: dunc101 on July 11, 2019, 11:45:42 PM
Thanks! I'm not familiar with backfilling though. What to look for?

https://honeybeesuite.com/backfilling-the-brood-nest/
"In beekeeping, backfilling refers to filling an empty brood cell with honey or sometimes pollen. In other words, a cell that previously held one or more generations of developing bees, is now used to store food.

This may occur at different times of year. For example, in the fall when the colony has finished drone rearing, the drone cells may be filled with honey. There are several good reasons for this: drones won?t be raised again for many months, the cells are the wrong size for workers and, since they are close to the main nest, they are convenient storage areas."

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesswarmcontrol.htm

"Overcrowding swarm.
Since it's the simplest and can happen anytime, lets briefly look at the overcrowding swarm. The factors that seem to contribute are:

No place to put nectar so it gets stored in the brood nest. Prevention: add supers.

Honey or pollen clogging the brood nest so that the queen has no where to lay. Prevention: remove combs of honey and add empty frames so that the bees will be occupied drawing wax and the queen will have somewhere to lay and the bees will have more room to cluster in the brood nest.

No place to cluster near the brood nest. The bees like to cluster near the queen (who is in the brood nest) and this clogs the brood nest making it crowded. Prevention: Slatted racks give room to cluster under the brood nest. Follower boards on the outside give room to cluster on the sides of the brood nest. These are a ?" wide top bar with a sheet of plywood or Masonite or similar material in the middle the size of a frame. One on each end replaces one frame in the brood nest.

Too much traffic congesting the brood nest. Prevention: a top entrance will give foragers a way in without going through the brood nest.

So basically, if you keep supers on and provide ventilation you can prevent an overcrowding swarm. "

Edited to add quotation marks.

Ben Framed · July 12, 2019, 02:00:24 AM

a top entrance will give foragers a way in without going through the brood nest.
So basically, if you keep supers on and provide ventilation you can prevent an overcrowding swarm.

Makes sense Tom. Since you posted . http://www.bushfarms.com/beesswarmcontrol.htm before your explanations,
I assume you find that information on Mr Bushs' website? Thanks for posting this.

incognito · July 12, 2019, 02:11:29 AM

Quote from: Ben Framed on July 12, 2019, 02:00:24 AM
a top entrance will give foragers a way in without going through the brood nest.
So basically, if you keep supers on and provide ventilation you can prevent an overcrowding swarm.

Makes sense Tom. Since you posted . http://www.bushfarms.com/beesswarmcontrol.htm before your explanations,
I assume you find that information on Mr Bushs' website? Thanks for posting this.

Those were their explanations, not mine, hence the referernces. I just did the internet search related to the question.

incognito · July 12, 2019, 02:12:40 AM

BTW - I have stopped all feeding (after 2 weeks with the top feeder). They were taking/storing too much syrup and I have almost all the comb I wanted,