Adding a super help please

[CliffDale]

Hi folks!

Two of my new colonies, (established form nucs this April), have built to 9 frames in a national hive and the brood box is quite full of bees.

Last Saturday I added a super with queen excluder between. The super has 11 frames of foundation.

Just had a quick peek and no bees are in the super. 'Tis completely empty!

I'm wondering if I should remove the queen excluder to encourage the bees upstairs whilst they draw out the foundation?

Or should I give them a bit more time?

Cliff

 

[Rosti]

My recommendation would be to keep the QE in place but to take a 1-1 sugar solution, drop of lemon grass oil in it when prepared and spray the foundation both sides, that should both attract them and hopefully stimulate some activity.
June can have a break in flow, if this is the case in your area and you have limited nectar coming in then they wont draw anyway, the girls wont work for the sheer hell of it - who does!

 

[Finman]

.
Rosti's advice is out of question. To feed hive in the middle of summer is not honest at all. Further more it just fills brood area and makes the colony swarm.
Put the super undes the brood box and follow when bees start to occupye the box. when the super is half occupied, put the box over the brood box.

don't use excluder. Let the colony grow.

 

[Rosti]

Finman, I am not saying feed, I am saying to spray a very small amount of sugar directly onto the frames to attract and get them started

 

[winmag270]

.
Rosti's advice is out of question. To feed hive in the middle of summer is not honest at all. Further more it just fills brood area and makes the colony swarm.
Put the super undes the brood box and follow when bees start to occupye the box. when the super is half occupied, put the box over the brood box.

don't use excluder. Let the colony grow.

I think Rosti's advice was to simply spray the foundation with 1:1 syrup to encourage the bee's to draw it out, rather than to suggest feeding.

This is something i have done before, when using old stock foundation, with success.....

not tried lemon grass oil in syrup spray yet though, although i have seen it used in a water spray to calm a colony being transferred between brood boxes....

 

[winmag270]

Finman, I am not saying feed, I am saying to spray a very small amount of sugar directly onto the frames to attract and get them started

he typed faster than me....

No Fair!!!!

 

[Rosti]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rosti
Finman, I am not saying feed, I am saying to spray a very small amount of sugar directly onto the frames to attract and get them started


he typed faster than me....

No Fair!!!!

Comment withdrawn because it was not mine, I broke into winmag270s thought patterns and stole the response, Un-reserved apologies, it's a fair cop!

 

[CliffDale]

Rosti's idea seems a good idea to try first, giving the foundation a spray of 1 to 1.

If this fails, then swap brood box over next.

If I swap over, is it right not to use the q excluder?

Cliff

 

[winmag270]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rosti
Finman, I am not saying feed, I am saying to spray a very small amount of sugar directly onto the frames to attract and get them started


he typed faster than me....

No Fair!!!!

Comment withdrawn because it was not mine, I broke into winmag270s thought patterns and stole the response, Un-reserved apologies, it's a fair cop!

Woah.....!!

who said I have thought patterns????

 

[Poly Hive]

At the risk of keeping it simple.

Do nothing.

When the bees want the space they will use it. Do bare in mind that 11 frames of foundation is a bit daunting to them and if there is no flow either then well... they have no need of it.

Leave them to get on with it and you may well be pleasantly suprised. Not to mention was it a bonny week for you as it was pretty damn cold here for most of it.

PH

 

[Hivemaker.]

Leave the excluder out for a while, until they have drawn a few frames of foundation,or better still if your other hives have drawn comb just use a couple of these in the supers.

 

[Finman]

.
It goes like Poly says. Bees draw combs when they need them more.

bees occupye new combs and new boxes when they are ready to do that. It is difficult to evaluate. In summer it is better to be too much space than too few. Tight means easily swarming.