Full comb: Some questions after my very first inspection.

[pbh4]

Well, I am am enjoying beekeeping so far . We have had our first colony since Sunday and have been to see them every day, watching them on the landing board and through the perspex cover board. Today, I opened the hive for the first time and did a full inspection - all on my own - very exciting.

The 5-frame nuc went into a standard National brood box on a dull, cool day (Sunday) and we gave 1.5 litres of thin syrup in a frame feeder (ala Hedgerow Pete's video) and 6 frames of foundation. Today, Thursday, a nice sunny day, the syrup had gone and the bees have started drawing one side of one frame of foundation on the side nearest to the frame feeder. I saw the queen, eggs, pearly white grubs of different sizes, loads of capped brood, a little capped honey lots of uncapped stores and pollen.

My questions are these (number 2 is the big one):

1. terminology: What does "one frame of brood" mean? Brood covering the whole of both sides of one frame? Brood just in the middle of both sides? Some brood somewhere on the frame? Something else?

2. It seemed to me that practically every cell in the old comb was in use, either full of brood or food. They have made some progress drawing out one side of one frame of foundation and seem to have been filling it with nectar or syrup as they are drawing it. Is it normal to fill the combs as they are being drawn? Is it a problem that everything is full up? Can they draw the wax quick enough to keep up with the nectar they are bringing in? What do they do if there is nowhere to put new nectar/pollen? Where is the queen supposed to lay if there are no empty cells? The hive is clearly not full but the comb is. Is that okay?

3. The experienced beekeeper who sold me the bees is down scaling and I could probably get empty brood comb from him. (He has already offered me drawn super frames). Is there any advantage to this? Or should I just let them get on with it? Obviously my bees already have whatever diseases his bees have since they were his bees last week!

4. What is the going rate for drawn comb?

I think I was well prepared before I got the bees. I have read about 10 books and practically lived on this forum for half a year. I have handled bees on a few occasions and am friends with and Italian bee farmer but it all feels different having my own colony to look after. It's like having a new baby - I'm excited but anxious.

Cheers,

Paul

 

[Tom Bick]

Hi Paul

Your colony is small it has to raise the brood, defend the hive, collect pollen and nectar, maintain the temperature in the hive, and drawer out the foundation. They probably have a few other jobs to do but it’s a lot for a small amount of bees to do.

Personally if it was me 1.5L of syrup was to much and what they have perhaps done with it is to put it into available comb and this will restrict the queen, if you felt it necessary to feed then perhaps half a litre would have been ok.

What you should do is dummy the colony down and only give them say two frames of foundation at a time and when they are well on the way to drawing them out increase it by one frame of foundation at a time, to much foundation can bewilder them and the dummy board helps retain heat.

Close the OMF and if possible insulate the roof this will help them with the keeping warm bit as less bees needed to maintain the temp in the hive more bees to drawer wax and forage ect.

Don’t expect them at this stage to expand fast they can only go at the speed they can and as the weeks pass they will increase but at their pace.

 

[Finman]

.
5 frames nuc is a small colony, and the most important is to keep it warm.
- no mesh floor open
- entrance 5 cm x 1 cm
- upper insulation
- movable wall what you move when you put there a new foundation or comb.

Biggest problem is that bees fill combs with nectar. It restrict the laying area and makes bees swarm.

When one frame of brood emerges, it gives 3 frames bees. It takes some time before the hive is full of bees. It depends how old brood you have.

That white cable is a 15 W terrarium heater. But the restricted space is the main point.
When the cluster spereaded, it filled all 5 frames.

 

[Finman]

Hi Paul

Your colony .

very good advices from Tom

 

[rowbow]

Drawn super comb is a bonus, it takes 1lb of honey to make 1oz of wax so drawn comb is money in the bank if you keep it clean (away from the queen and moths) it will last years, a super with only foundation in will have 11/12 frames fitted when it is all drawn out evenly space out to 10/11 frames you can go down to 9 frames, all supers that are putt on should be of the same configeration.

John

 

[Tom Bick]

Thanks Finman that is indeed praise I think lol, but the advice is only drawn from my own experiences and many similar posts that you have said many times over regarding nucs.

As with everything its one thing learning something but its experience that is king and you only gain that with time.

 

[drstitson]

i agree with the above - you should be gradually expanding the number of frames one by one using a dummy board to restrict the space the bees are in.

 

[pbh4]

My question seems to have generated consensus on the beekeeping forum. Something of a coup! I will take the outside frames out this evening, put the OMF in and insulate above the crown board.

Just to clarify:

Is it normal to start filling comb before it is fully drawn? I do not recall reading about it anywhere.


Thanks again,

Paul

 

[Poly Hive]

Not really Paul so I would cut back on the feeding you are doing. The weather at the moment is fine, there is nectar on the go, and mine are ignoring syrup for what they find for themselves.

PH

 

[Tom Bick]

Yes Paul the bees will use the comb if only half drawn.

It’s a good example of the bees don’t read the books.

 

[pbh4]

Not really Paul so I would cut back on the feeding you are doing. The weather at the moment is fine, there is nectar on the go, and mine are ignoring syrup for what they find for themselves.

PH

I took the feeder out yesterday. I think they did need it on Sunday when it was actually quite chilly and there was very little stores in the nuc. There was still some syrup when I took the frame feeder out so I reckon they took a total of about one litre.

I did some research before I got the nuc to find out how to install it. Lots of web pages, this forum, books etc. I got the message (but can't remember where from) that I should fill up the whole box with foundation. In the end, I just watched as the experienced beek who supplied the nuc installed it and that's what he did.

Lots to learn!

Paul

 

[margob99]

I counted 6 questions in your Number 2, pbh4 Boy, do I know how you feel though!