[tb101]

Hello,

This is my second year of beekeeping and I've moved from one hive to four this year (two packages, two nucs). It's been about two months, and in one of the nucs, the bees have not drawn comb, or done anything on any frame but those that came with the nuc. There is definitely a queen in there, a bunch of uncapped honey, a fair amount of brood, and the bees seem active gathering pollen. The consistently build comb above and below the nuc frames, and built a a lot on the feeder... but nothing on frames. I added a super to see if they wanted to build up instead of out, and nothing on those either. My other three hives have grown much more extensively and I can't figure out why this hive isn't expanding onto new frames. I fed 1:1 sugar/water for the first 1.5 months and they consumed roughly 25 lbs of sugar. Should I swap a frame with a better hive? Kill the queen? Combine it entirely with another hive? Really not sure what to do -- thanks for any advice!

Best,
Todd

 

[Oldtimer]

Wouldn't swap or combine with another hive, just incase the problem is an infection such as varroa mites, or N. cerana, or such.

How strong is the nuc bee wise? Is it a full four frames well covered with bees?

A pic or two of the nuc would be helpful, one showing the general bee numbers in the nuc, and a good quality close up pic of a frame of brood.

 

[Hobo]

the bees have not drawn comb, or done anything on any frame but those that came with the nuc.

Do the frames that the bees have refused to touch have plastic foundation? If so adding a layer of wax to the foundation may entice them to draw them out. Or you could replace some of those frames with empty frames with starter strips.

 

[Jadeguppy]

Answering Oldtimers questions will get you better answers. What position are the new frames in? Have you tried putting one in the middle of the brood nest?