One brood box only? Honey super? Depending on how much room they have, they may not fill out all frames/sides. Are you testing for mites?
New beekeeper
I got my first package of bees back in March, they still have not filled out 80% of frames in brood box. I fed the bees as suggested, either I have some lazy bees or I’m not doing something right. I will add that my bees are pretty much in the shade all day, I thought about moving the hive where they were in the sun some of the day. Is this normal?
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Assuming your hive is queenright and she is laying and releasing her pheromones. If not, they will lose a lot of momentum.my bees are pretty much in the shade all day, I thought about moving the hive where they were in the sun some of the day. Is this normal?
I recommend moving them into more sun than shade. My first year I had them in full shade and hive beetles started giving me fits. Moved them into 3/4 sun and the hives started doing much better. I also noticed an increased level of business once in the sun. It made a big difference with my hives.
Ryan
No, its not normal. They are failing to thrive and grow which could be caused by numerous issues and diseases. Yes, re-locating them from shade to sun can help, but we really need some more info. How does the brood look? Pattern? How much syrup are they taking? Have you checked for mites? Good pictures help a lot. J
Bad queen, or not enough bees to get going, my best hives were in 3/4 shade with no beetles at all.
This is picture of one of frames I took in my hive today, Also noticed several small beetles crawling around. Placed white sticky board several days ago under screened bottom, when inspected it had about 12- 15 small beetles and quite a bit of tiny white larvae. I removed the 2 frames that were full of tiny larvae and replaced them . It appears I have a pretty good beetle infestation.
This is NOT to make you feel bad about your bees, but I had a small swarm (less than 3#) move into a five frame nuc the last week of April (all foundationless frames). I left them for two weeks and when I checked then, all the frames were near fully drawn.
I moved them to a 10 frame hive and by the end of May they were full again......solid full frames of capped brood like I've never seen before. So I added a second deep.
At the end of June while checking supers on the other hives, I took a quick look again.....I added a queen excluder and a super to them.
Last week when I pulled supers to harvest, they had the super nearly filled with nectar....nothing capped yet, but will be soon if they keep up their pace.
I've been really amazed at their progress in such a short time.
I wish you well with your hive(s).
I moved them to a 10 frame hive and by the end of May they were full again......solid full frames of capped brood like I've never seen before. So I added a second deep.
At the end of June while checking supers on the other hives, I took a quick look again.....I added a queen excluder and a super to them.
Last week when I pulled supers to harvest, they had the super nearly filled with nectar....nothing capped yet, but will be soon if they keep up their pace.
I've been really amazed at their progress in such a short time.
I wish you well with your hive(s).
I love playing smush the SHB larvae. Had a nuc today that had two frames infested. Set them on top of an adjacent hive and watched the maggots drop out. Hive tool does a great job. Washed the frames at the kitchen sink and will be reinstalling them after I add more bees to the nuc.
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