[pitty]

Started with 2 packages on April 17. Using Langs. with wooden frames and plasticell. Got 2 deeps filled, put on shallow supers 2 weeks ago but was pushing it on one hive. They still had 3 frames to fill out of 10. The other one had 9 frames full.

Question #1: One hive hasn't started to pull comb in the supers. The other has pulled 1/3 to 1/2 of each frame and has uncapped honey. Inspected the short hive last week down to the bottom. It had eggs and different stages of brood and stored honey. But, the brood pattern is spotty. Not like when they started. Did not see queen but hey, I'm a newbie. Did not see any queen cells. Should I re-queen or let them sort it out?

Question #2: I put 10 frames in the supers. When is it time to pull the 10th and space the 9 frames?

 

[NasalSponge]

1. What exactly do you mean by spotty??

2. When all 10 are fully drawn

 

[pitty]

Spotty meaning there are more open cells among the capped brood than when they started.

 

[dixiebooks]

Question #2: I put 10 frames in the supers. When is it time to pull the 10th and space the 9 frames?

Why would you want to do that?

-james

 

[indypartridge]

When is it time to pull the 10th and space the 9 frames?

Why would you want to do that?

Many beekeepers (myself included) run 9 (or even 8) frames in honey supers. The bees draw out the comb further making it easier to uncap. The amount of honey stored is roughly the same. So for each super, there's one less frame to uncap, one less frame to extract, but the same amount of honey.

But as NasalSponge pointed out, you start with 10 frames until they are drawn out.

 

[Ravenseye]

I wouldn't do anything except wait. That's a lot of work for the bees to get done and it sounds like they've done a good job. You probably don't have a lot coming in right now and what is coming in isn't surplus since they need to feed the brood. If the weather is warm and the flow is slow, there's no need for a lot of brood and no need for a lot of space. The bees won't pull wax for no reason. Once things pick up and there's a surplus, you'll see them finish pulling wax in the supers and start capping the ripe honey in the cells. Yes, if you're going to run 9 frame supers you need to get the comb fully drawn out first otherwise they sometimes build wonky comb in the extra space. Haste does make waste when that happens.

 

[Andrew Dewey]

It sounds like the queen in your slower hive is cutting back her egg production either in response to or anticipation of the summer dearth. So I'd certainly keep an eye on her, but the hive sounds very typical of what I'd expect for a first year package.

As for Question 2 - I wouldn't go to nine frames until next season.