[mike17l]

I live in the South Texas brush country. No guahillo, but plenty of other brush species, cactus, mesquite, lime prickly ash, granjeno, hackberry, brasil, ect. I have one hive. I have had it now, for just under two years. Last year I noticed that the bees did not draw very much comb and requeened them with a VSH queen, from lines that a buddy of mine also has. For him, in South Louisiana, they draw comb great.

Well this year came along, I feed a couple bee pro patties and a few gallons of 1:2 (water:sugar) in the early spring. Now the flowers have been blooming, and every cell is full of eggs, larva, pollen, or honey. I am still not getting any new comb being drawn. I have added new supers with new frames, even put a couple new frames in the current honey stores and two frames of uncapped honey in with the new frames. No luck.

The colony swarmed last week, and have some queen cells, hopefully all will be well there, but my question is this: When and how can I feed syrup that will stimulate the pulling of new comb?

 

[drlonzo]

Honey bees are strange little bugs at times. But i'm sure you already know that part. So let me get down to answering or trying to answer your question. First, bees will only pull comb as they need it. Your next question - Well how do i get them to need it? That is a little more detailed. In the spring - right now that is - beekeepers all around are feeding their bees a mixture that is at least a 1:1 mix of sugar to water. Each beekeeper is diff when it comes right down to it when it comes to how they mix it, but the important thing is that the mix must stay in temp above 55 deg F for the bees to take it. Now on to the next item on the list - as you are feeding these bees it will stimulate them to put it away and use it, however since your queen has swarmed and they are waiting for a new queen to take over after that, which may take up to another 15 days for her to start laying, they will pack away the sugar water pretty good, but the new bees are the ones that draw new wax, therefore once the bees that are now grubbs hatch out and age a little new wax will slow down again. So the easiest way I see for you to get new wax build up is simply to put frames inside your broodnest that are empty. When you put them between two frames that are already being used for brood the bees tend to draw them out quickest to restore the broodnest.

I hope this lecture of mine helps in some way. Just trying to cover all the bases a little for you.

 

[Joel]

What type of foundation are you using?

 

[pannu96]

I use deep boxes for honey supers and brood chambers so I just alternate frames into the honey super from the brood deep and put them back after a couple of days. It works well.

 

[mike17l]

What type of foundation are you using?

I am using Rite Cell from Mann Lake.

All of my boxes are 8 frame mediums, so I can move frames around more if that will help.

 

[merince]

My bees don't draw plastic very good.

You can try to alternate some foundation with brood frames and feed them light syrup (1:1). That should get them started.

 

[David LaFerney]

My bees draw plastic just fine - put this frame in about 2 days ago...

They have to need more comb. Mann Lake ritecell - straight out of the box, no added anything.

 

[My-smokepole]

You might try baiting them up in a new box with some old comb
David

 

[David LaFerney]

Or a frame of brood - what i do.