[MikeJ]

(This continues from a number of previous posts about the bees filling the brood nests with honey)

I don't know what they are up to. Unless they clear some out and let the queen lay they will die from lack of young bees. There is only a very small amount of capped brood - but quite a bit of dron brood (I don't think she is a drone layer though since the drone is not really mixed with the workers).
They still continue to pack it in anywhere they can. The brood nest is in complete disorder.

I have foundationless frames in a honey super (no queen excluder). They are ignoring it. There is still tons of clover and the sweet clover is now in swing. Vetch is everywhere. I may need to tape their mouths shut.

I placed 2 empty drawn frames on either side of the queen a few days back and today I see they have started packing it with honey. There are now about 3 or 4 capped queen cells and a few others uncapped.

I requeened them about 3 weeks ago. Saw eggs today but not the queen. I don't understand why this buckfast queen is so hard to spot (I almost never have trouble seeing the queen if she is there).

I don't know what to do anymore but just leave them alone and see if they will fix themselves.

Any suggestions.... Has anyone ever seen a hive that just doesn't seem to want to allow brood to be raised?

Mike

 

[mythomane]

Sounds like they are backfilling. Put in some drawn comb, no excluder.

 

[MikeJ]

As I said in my post I did this with two frames. Their second chamber had foundationless. Mostly drawn now and also in honey.

Mike

 

[zookeeper]

Mike, I'm experiencing the same thing with my hive. My mentor suggested adding an empty box above the queen but beneath the honey; and then he told me to switch my feed to 2:1 syrup (2 pts water, 1 sugar) to stimulate them to raise brood (I'd been feeding 1:1). This weekend will be my first hive check since doing this. Got my fingers crossed that I'll see more brood/less honey!

 

[HONEYDEW]

Your mentor is ruining your chances for succes if he / she is telling you to feed at all this time of year, That is exactly why they are backfilling their nest, too much feed coming in not enough time to build comb... Stop feeding them till they are 50% or more out of feed in the brood area and they will begin to be able to be bees again, and not a honey mill :no: Have fun and best of luck....:ws

 

[brac]

You gave alot of info, but I don't think you ever told us you were feeding them. We would all have agreed on the answer, "STOP FEEDING"

not thinner feed, no feed.
Then keep us posted.

 

[beehugger]

Very interesting Honeydew, I'm a newbee and had heard that you stop feeding either a.) when they stop taking it, or b.) you add your honey supers. I will have to add your advice to the list.
And Zookeeper, I'm curious why your mentor said feed 2:1 instead of 1:1. I thought you only did 2:1 in the fall when they were building stores for the winter, not raising brood.
I like knowing the rules, but it seems in the beekeeping world everything is not so cut and dried.
This all leads me to another question, but it's a slightly different topic so I will ask in a new thread.

 

[MikeJ]

No I am not feeding.. This hive hasn't had any feed since about may - I think I gave them 1 gal at most. (this is from a swarm split).

It seems there isn't much use in extracting honey they just repack it in there... I will end up with a lot of partially prepared honey.

Do bees do this - get it in there heads to just go for stores and ignore their need for brood? I know I haven't a lot of experience so maybe my problem is I need to leave them alone? I estimate maybe 1 frame of worker brood if I put it all together (but I bet it would be more like 3/4 frame). There is a lot of drone brood but it is in drone comb so I don't think she is a drone layer. It is not mixed in.

Mike

 

[Double D]

MikeJ,
I experienced the same type of problem with the bees not moving into the foundationless supers. I have read that the bees don’t like to move into the empty foundationless supers. My solution was to use a piece of empty comb from a laying worker hive that I shook out, cut it down, and rubber band it into a couple of frames in the super. When I next checked they had secured the comb to the frame and were starting to store honey. They have since used the supers and left the queen room in the deeps. This worked for me in all 5 of my foundationless hives.

 

[DutchBee]

They are in a heavy flow!

Put an empty between the hive bodies and honey supers. That is what I am going through. I am out of honey supers and waiting on more foundation from Dadant. Getting ready to extract some supers because I need more empty frames.

I have three hives that were packages the April that have already filled both hive bodies and two honey supers and one April package that has filled two hive bodies and three honey supers. Give them room to move up with honey and they will move honey out of the way for the queen to lay.

I am new two years now but all of my hives were getting honey bound and I added medium honey supers right above the bound hive bodies. Waited for then to start drawing out the new med honey supers then scratched the honey cells that were closest to the center of the hive bodies and they seemed to move the honey up to the new supers.

Last year I just put the new honey supers on top of the existing honey supers and they did not seem to draw them out very quick. Now I have learned from this forum to put the new ones between the hive bodies and partially or completely full honey supers they will draw the empty frames and fill them.

I think I may have three to four full honey supers on most of my hives to harvest this year if they stay the course until our smaller fall flow. I left everything for them from the fall flow last year and will probably do the same this year. I may take a couple frames of the golden rod honey this fall just to see what it is like.
In my opinion you are in a heavy flow.

Oh and remember I am not in your location so I do not know what you have in bloom but I have sweet white clover up the ying yang right now the most I have ever seen. Must be the field burn I did last fall. And like everyone else said, when the supers go on the feed comes off. I want honey not liquor..... unless it is charcoal filtered and says Jack on the label.

 

[wdcrkapry205]

You folks are making me sick still talking about a heavy flow NOW! Could put them on cotton but they'd get sprayed. The only thing flowing here is SWEAT! Give 'em plenty of room and ENJOY it while it last!

 

[Peter]

They are in a heavy flow!



I think I may have three to four full honey supers on most of my hives to harvest this year if they stay the course until our smaller fall flow. I left everything for them from the fall flow last year and will probably do the same this year. I may take a couple frames of the golden rod honey this fall just to see what it is like.
In my opinion you are in a heavy flow.

Weird Summer. Second week in July and we have golden rod in flower behind us. Typically golden rod will flower up until first frost which here is around mid October. If we get some rain to kick life back into things it could be quite a honey year.
Also was interested to see that purple loosestrife is making a comeback after the weevil introduction of several years back. Have a steady stream of foragers coming back from the 5+ acres that are about 1/4 mile away.

 

[be lote]

mostly they aint gonna spray til they see sign in the traps round here.
talk with your county ag man in the area an the farmer an can get a idea of
what when an if then go from there.

havein to irigate round here been so hot an dry.

 

[Andrew Dewey]

Such a problem to have! At last good weather for bees!

My main flow has ended here and the GR flow is still a few weeks off (I think) - so here is what I would do, presuming you have extra equipment lying around:

1) Give them another 2-3 frames of empty drawn comb in the brood chamber.
2) If you are 100% certain you have a queen and you are happy that she is laying well (doesn't sound like it), cut the cells.
3) replace the undrawn foundationless honey super with one with drawn comb. If there is already some honey in it from another hive so much the better.
4) if you aren't happy with the queen and don't want to wait for a new queen to hatch out and mate, combine into another hive.

Sometimes you can't save colonies from themselves - I'm getting quicker at recognizing it - although I discovered yesterday that two of my "dinks" in Jonesboro bit the dust. That's ok, more drawn comb! (Yes I will inspect it before reusing)