Advice and opinions please

[ultreen1]

I've had my nuc 3 weeks, expansion is zero! I fed syrup for a week then I gave, some fondant. Queen was laying over a week ago with brood of all stages. Stores were low. My 2nd fulll inspection will happen tomorrow so...I have a few options:

1: feed syrup with vitafeed
2: continue with fondant
3: give them a pollen patty
4: feed normal syrup
5: if I do 2,3 or 4 I was considering administering vitafeed via trickling.

The colony seems strong for its size and is very active during warm sunny periods, but then again what would I know! The instinct to forage goes back millions of years, so they are doing what they need to do!

 

[Meg]

Feed syrup - having checked there is space for the queen to lay. They need the food in order to be able to draw out the foundation that I assume you have in there. Keep them dummied down to just a couple of frames of foundation apart from the original frames. That way it might actually be warm enough for them to make wax.

Don't panic yet - it is still very early in the season and it has been rather inclement weather!

Meg

 

[ultreen1]

Thanks meg, only 2 frames of foundation either side of dummy boards. What about the vita feed?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Whereabouts exactly are you? things are very slow around here at the moment - the weather hasn't exactly been kind to the bees - they need warmth to produce wax and it's hard to heat the hive up if it's cold outside - had a 6 frame overwintered nuc going great guns four weeks ago but they're going no further although there's loads of bees in the hive - i think it's just a matter of patience.
!:1 syrup is sufficient I think at the moment - it will help with comb building when they get around to it.

 

[teddy2toes]

I got a 5 frame nuc 3 weeks ago. Fed 1:1 with vitafeed green, in rapid English feeder.With plenty of insulation on top.
They took down over 8 litres in 2 weeks. The colony grew rapidly, now added QE & super as queen cups seen yesterday.
I hope this may help a little.

 

[Bob Bee]

I got a 5 frame nuc 3 weeks ago. Fed 1:1 with vitafeed green, in rapid English feeder.With plenty of insulation on top.
They took down over 8 litres in 2 weeks. The colony grew rapidly, now added QE & super as queen cups seen yesterday.
I hope this may help a little.

Teddy, can I make a few suggestions. First would be to remove the Queen excluder. 8 litres of rapid feed is an autumn activity, not a spring one. Chances are that the queen is limited for room to lay due to stored syrup.
There's been lots of good advice on here about spring feeding recently, so ease up on the feeding unless your confident that they have no or hardly any stores.
In order to use the extra room in the super they have to draw the foundation.
If your confident about telling the difference between brood and stores, remove an excess frame of stores from the outside edges of the brood box and replace with foundation or lightly damage the cappings to encourage the bees to use or move it.
Then leave everything alone for week at least. Queen cups do not a swarm make!. Don't worry until your weekly inspection shows a charged queen cell.
I think if you let them work through the existing syrup, drawing out the foundation, all may be well.

 

[Meg]

Ultreen 1,

Yes, I would certainly add the virafeed to the syrup. I am a great advocate of the gold myself, but have little experience of the green version.

Meg

 

[Hebeegeebee]

In my part of the world (my apiary), colonies have not expanded that much over recent weeks.

 

[tonybloke]

In my part of the world (my apiary), colonies have not expanded that much over recent weeks.

( but then we are in the same part of the world, east Norfolk)

 

[MuswellMetro]

Ultreen 1,

Yes, I would certainly add the virafeed to the syrup. I am a great advocate of the gold myself, but have little experience of the green version.

Meg

None of mine will touch vitafeed gold, but will easliy take sugar syrup or Apiinvert/Ambrosia syrup + drop lemon grass oil per litre

 

[ultreen1]

I tricked 100ml sugar syrup/vita feed mix and gave them 1/2 a pollen patty, the weather isnt getting better and the temp is dropping again! I did find 2 queen cups tho!

 

[Swarm]

17 degrees this afternoon and plenty of activity with the bees. 1:1 syrup should be plenty for a nuc like you describe.

 

[Meg]

MM,

I am amazed that yours don't touch vitafeed gold. A friend of mine reckons on his bees turning round mid flight if they think think they are in for a Gold treat! Have you checked yours for nosema recently?

Meg

 

[mbc]

I tricked 100ml sugar syrup/vita feed mix and gave them 1/2 a pollen patty, the weather isnt getting better and the temp is dropping again! I did find 2 queen cups tho!

Bees nearly always make queen cups or play cups as they are known, you only have to take notice and start taking action if these cups are charged. If you inspect regularly you will see a gradual progression in the development in queen cups, beginning with them making the cup, it will have a dull wax coloured interior surface, they will then polish the inside and it will appear slightly darker(from the propolis veneer)and shinier and then you might see eggs in play cups - when I see eggs I squish the cup - but you only really have to take action when you see larvae in the cups, it is no longer a "play cell" but is now the beginnings of a queen cell and its time to swing a swarm control plan into action, my first plan is usually to destroy the cells, take away some brood and bees and give more room, only if this doesnt work do I think about an AS.