need advice!!!

[ajs32]

i am in upstate ny chemung county 3 hives two are pkg one captured, all three seem to be drawing comb at snails pace. pkgs hived on 5/2 captured one on 5/20. 5/2 hives have 6-7 frames drawn in 1st deep and are starting to draw in 2nd deep. one pkg hive has not much nectar stores but good pollen, lots of brood both full/empty cells. prob 1 is this there seems to be alot of (drone cells)? they are taller than reg cells, rounded on top def. not queen cells though all over the frames, 24 or so per side on one frame. is this normal?also why the lack of nectar reserves, still feeding 2:1 to all hives. captured hive has ant problem, tried cinamon didnt work, and it is this hive only, any suggestions? are there supplements i should be using to help wax drawing? tried posting pics but cannot figure it out

[dragonfly]

On your 2:1, is that sugar to water? Personally, I would be feeding 1:1 or 1:2.

[tecumseh]

as dragonfly has suggested it ain't the time of the year to be feeding 2 to 1.

secondly for a newly started hive I would be somewhat to highly concerned about any significant quantity of drone cells created. this could be somewhat connected to lack of nectar (poor nutrition coming in the front door which with a new start is all they have) but this could also suggest that the queen is poorly mated.

correct the feed problem first and if drone cells still occur in significant numbers I would think about replacing the queen (ps if you do not the bees likely will).

[ajs32]

ikn all the reading i have done it says the 2:1 (sugar to water) stimulates drawing of wax...should i cut it to 1:1 then? also what is good for mite Rx? one hive i noticed a few bees with a mite on them

[MWillard]

I had a similar issue with my new bees not drawing out comb. (installed nucs 5/19) I put on a hive top feeder with 1:1 syrup and within a week they drew out three full frames of new foundation and two 1/2 frames. After that week of feeding we pulled the feeder because we didn't want them to get honey bound and no place for the queen to lay eggs.

I would try the 1:1 and see what happens. The syrup is supposed to get their wax glands into production mode, thus promoting comb drawing.

[dragonfly]

2:1 sugar: water is for fall feeding, 1:1 is for spring feeding, and 1:2 is recommended for stimulating brood production according to sources I have.

[ajs32]

so another question then...how to i get bees to build out...one hive is in 1st deep has middle 3 frames drawn and is starting to build combe between tops of frames and the inner cover?