Super not being drawn out

SS_Smith · Jul 1, 2018

Hi All

I went away for a few weeks and as such put two full supers onto my single brood hive.

Brood
Super (undrawn foundation)
QE (wire grill type)
Super (1/2 Undrawn Foundation, 1/2 Empty frames with bamboo for support)
Crown board
Lid

After around three weeks I've had a look and the broodbox is packed. Also packed is the first super which is all drawn out (brood and honey) except for one frame.

The super above the QE hasn't been touched and there were maybe 50 bee's in their when I looked.

I know I shuld be adding supers one at a time but with three weeks away thought it better to be safe than sorry and avoid a swarm.

I swapped two fully drawn frames from the full super with two frames of non drawn foundation from the empty super.

Questions is why had they not started to draw out the top super?

Thanks in advance SSSmith

enrico · Jul 1, 2018

Swap the supers over
E

pargyle · Jul 1, 2018

Because they didn't need it ... they will only draw and fill combs when they need them for either brood or stores. Bees are economic insects .. the tasks they do are those that are their immediate priority.

If you want to force them to use the empty super you could try moving the queen excluder and swapping the empty super for the one that is filled .. doesn't always work.

PS:
Having looked again at your post - if you have brood in the super I would leave well alone until it has emerged. Patience required ...

Swarm · Jul 1, 2018

Don't go the brood and half route, better to add another brood and dummy to required size.

Beefriendly · Jul 1, 2018

Couldn't agree more. Brood and half is totally inflexible for colony management.
If you are managing colonies you will need to move frames between brood boxes as you deem necessary. An impossibly situation on brood and a half.

Millet · Jul 1, 2018

Brood plus half is a ball ache , if you have drawn super frames with stores and no brood in your brood plus half... stick the super frames above the Queen excluder, that will get the bees up there..

SS_Smith · Jul 1, 2018

Millet said:
Brood plus half is a ball ache , if you have drawn super frames with stores and no brood in your brood plus half... stick the super frames above the Queen excluder, that will get the bees up there..

What would be the downside if I put frames of honey and brood above the QE?

Millet · Jul 1, 2018

SS_Smith said:
What would be the downside if I put frames of honey and brood above the QE?

If you can avoid it don't put brood above above the excluder as it is a drone death trap if they get trapped above, put frames of stores only no brood above the excuder, it does help to get the bees up on the super frames.

SS_Smith · Jul 1, 2018

Thanks Millet.

I didn't think about the drones.

I'll give them till next weekend to see if they've made any progress on the top super and if not look at moving a few of the frames that appear to be just stores up.

Millet · Jul 1, 2018

For instance i have a new colony recently placed in a full brood box from a nucleus, they where on six frames of brood and stores, they ignored the super above the Queen excluder, i put one (only one) extracted frame above the Queen excluder and now it is half full of capped honey..

Take the info as you want but it worked for me..

drex · Jul 2, 2018

As mentioned brood and a half is inflexible. I run double brood. If I get a honey ceiling in the top box, just under the QE, they become reluctant to cross that ceiling, so I lift brood up from bottom box, and put frames from the top box, which have a honey arch, into the bottom box. They then are more likely to go up into the supers.
I suggest you do your swapping of shallow frames, lifting the honey filled frames from under the QE, and placing in the super above the QE, and move the empty frames down. That should achieve the same result as my manipulation. Or you could just swap the deep and shallow over ( the shallow that has brood in). You will split the brood nest that way, but with this warm weather, you should be fine.

Super not being drawn out

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