[kramlegan]

I have a few questions I was hoping to get answered. After my inspection last week my 1st year bees from a nuc had almost started drawing comb on the outer plastic foundation.

My current setup is a deep with 8 frames and an internal feeder.

When I inspect tomorrow I am assuming I am going to have to add a medium on top of the deep.

First question is do I take the feeder out of the deep and replace with frames?

Do I put a medium feeder in the new top medium?

I have seen people post about how you have to draw bees up and you can do so by moving a frame or two into the new deep. Well mine is a medium so the deep frames will not fit without hanging down. Do I do this and leave one or two blanks in the deep?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

 

[RayMarler]

You are now adding a super, so I'd leave the feeder off, not wanting sugar syrup in my honey super. If you are planning on using that medium with the deep as the nest size, then I'd leave the feeder where it is. I'd also move the two partially drawn frames inwards one slot to help get them drawn.

Yes, you can leave a spot open in the bottom and hang a deep drawn frame into the medium, hanging down into the deep. It will help in getting the bees working in the medium. They will draw out wax off the bottom of the bottom bar of that frame. You can cut it off and tie it into a medium frame once they get started drawing wax in the top medium and you move that deep frame back down where it goes in the bottom box.

Some of this is just personal management preferences, some do things a little differently than others.

 

[waynesgarden]

I wouldn't worry about syrup getting into the second box. I don't think that a single 8 frame deep will be very successful getting through an Idaho winter, so any box or boxes that you add now will be brood boxes, not honey supers. Do you have another deep or are you planning to just use the single deep and a couple mediums for brood?

You probably could leave the feeder in the bottom if it is an internal feeder frame feeder and feeding is still necessary. You need the bees to draw out enough comb to build up a strong brood nest and if there is no nectar flow in your area, they will need the syrup. If they are bringing in enough nectar, then there is no need to feed.

I've never used plastic foundation so I don't know how hard it is to get bees to start working the next brood box plastic. I would just put the medium box on now with all the standard frames and see if a problem actually develops.

If there is no need to feed, you could replace the feeder with medium frames adjacent to the brood temporarily. When they are partly drawn out pull them up into the center of the medium above and add deep frames to the bottom brood box. But I'd first see if the bees just move up on their own as they always do on my wax foundation.

Wayne

 

[kramlegan]

I was planning on using a single deep and at least one if not two mediums for brood.

The nectar flow has been good so maybe I'll remove the feeder and replace with empty deep frames in slots 2 and 9 if the current outside frames have drawn comb on them now. Then next week add the medium super.

If I use medium frames and then move them up will they fill the lower deep frames once I give them empty frames on the new medium box?

 

[JRG13]

remove the feeder, add frames back, stick on the medium when they're ready for it and the bees will now what to do.