[Quint Randle]

I really need some advice. I don't want to ramble on, so I'll do my best.

Hive No. 1 seemed to be doing fantastic about two weeks ago. Nice laying patterns in top and bottom brood boxes. So planned to put on a honey super last week. As I checked last Saturday things were still going well, both boxes were basically full. But the top brood box seemed like it was basicaly becoming honey bound. Full of honey and some capped brood. But the lower brood box was going well with brood patterns, etc. So I put the honey super on, hoping they'd draw that out quickly and things would get back to normal in that top brood box.

But today I check her and a) they've had no interest at all in the honey super. No bees up there at all. In fact, some of the foundation (for comb honey -- on regular frames) had "melted".

And now basically THE ENTIRE HIVE is honey bound. Seems like all last week as brood emerged it was replaced with honey. I found NO NEW EGGS in the bottom (or top) until the very last frame in the bottom I found like a little square area of maybe about 20 new eggs. That's it.

Meanwhile, Hive No. 2 is not making any progress. I just see a few eggs here and there in the one brood chamber there is for that hive. Maybe 10 eggs per frame at the most -- and that's maybe on the three frames in the box that even have brood on it in the first place.

I know it's hard to respond to posts that ramble on forever, but I really need some help.

Here's what I'm thinking of doing. First, order 1-2 new queens. Then taking one box from the strong hive and putting it with the weak hive (newspaper method) and then taking one empty brood box and putting it on the strong hive. Maybe that will open things up if there is still a queen in there (the good hive). Meanwhile I can install the queen in the weak hive (with the now box full of bees I've given it).

If the other hive never opened up, or the queen didn't return, then I would order another queen and install it there.

Things are messed up and I think I've gone from being really happy and thinking I was going to get honey out of Hive 1 this year, to now just hoping to end up with two hives that will have a chance to make it through winter.

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated

Quint

 

[Velbert]

Wright now you need Brood in those hive


What I would do is if the honey is ripe extract several frames an get them back into the good hive. So the Queen can start laying.

they when it rebounds put some sealed brood into the weaker one

 

[RAlex]

Quint do you have two deeps for hive bodies and use mediums for honey supers ? I suspect that hive number 1 is getting ready to swarm. Maybe you can check for queen cells on the bottom of the bars on the upper hive.Sounds like the queen is getting honey bound. I would definatly requeen hive number 2...You can put supers on early but run the risk of overcrowding if your too late putting them on ...G`luck Rick

 

[Quint Randle]

Yes. I use deeps. There are no swarm cells in the honeybound hive. I looked through and through. I thought I was doing everything right. I put the second deep on when the first deep was 8/10th drawn out. Then I put the super on when the second deep was about the same. But they didn't even think about working the honey super this last week. (Which is weird cause they totally got into working the second brood box right away.)

It just all happened over two weeks' period of time.

For Hive No. 2 last week, I had pulled a good frame of eggs (new eggs on one side/capped brood on the other) from Hive 1 and put it in there to a) bolster their numbers, and b) provide some eggs in case they wanted to requeen themselves. But a week later, there were no supercedure cells.

I monitor these boards a lot and "get" a lot of the issues that are discussed, and see problems posted in photos, etc., but I'm still at a loss as to what to do.

I could get an extractor this week sometimes and extract some of the honey bound frames in Hive 1, but quite a few of them still have a significant amount of brood on them (like 10% maybe). More than just a couple cells here and there. That's why I was thinking of switching the one boxe of from Hive 1 to Hive 2. That would give Hive 2 some strength, and then give Hive 1 and new undrawn super to draw out. Any more thoughts would be appreciated.

Quint

 

[Velbert]

If you swap the box from hive 1 and put it on hive 2 that is weak Is the hive strong enough to guard it against robbers. You can extract the frames with the sealed brood and no larva Just uncap around the brood don't cut into the brood If you could do just 2-3 frames this will help a lot


if the flow is still going good they more than likely draw out the frames in your super or part of them any way

 

[Quint Randle]

<<If you swap the box from hive 1 and put it on hive 2 that is weak Is the hive strong enough to guard it against robbers.>>

Very much so. Hive 1 is FULL of bees. (But I would have to make sure the queen wasn't in the box I moved. Or put a queen excluder between the new deep and the old on on Hive 2.)

<<You can extract the frames with the sealed brood and no larva Just uncap around the brood don't cut into the brood If you could do just 2-3 frames this will help a lot>>

I'll see if I can get a hold of an extractor real quick and get that done this week.

<<if the flow is still going good they more than likely draw out the frames in your super or part of them any way>>

That's why I was so suprised that they didn't touch the super cause the got into the second brood deep right away, with no problems at all. Should I spray the foundation in the super with surgar water? Does it help to shake bees into it as well?

Thanks,

Quint

 

[Quint Randle]

So I've got a new queen for Hive No. 2 on it's way.

I've pulled 4 frames from Hive 1 to extract and put back in to open up the brood area so there is room for the queen to lay again. When I put them back, where should I put them? There isn't much of a brood area to break up, so to speak since it so honey bound. Should I put it in the bottom box or the second? etc?

Quint