lack of stores

[mel1of4]

Hi everyone, would appreciate some advice.
Started with a 5 frame nuc in mid-June, gave them some syrup and they've been doing really well. We added a second brood box in middle of July as the first was getting full. They now have 2 FULL frames of brood in the top box and have drawn out most of the others, but our worry is that there are no stores at all. We are going to give them a gallon of thin syrup starting tomorrow, but I don't really understand why they have no stores. The weather isn't great but not too bad for Cumbria and there are plenty of flowers about. Is this typical at this time of year or have we gone wrong somewhere?
Thanks

 

[oliver90owner]

First question is the origin of the queen - not Italian by any chance?

Regards, RAB

 

[Adam]

The weather isn't great but not too bad for Cumbria and there are plenty of flowers about. Is this typical at this time of year or have we gone wrong somewhere?
Thanks

On another forum, banned from being referenced here, which it seems everyone else flits between (except perhaps you and the administrator!). Says this:

"sent to our association and posted here for information>

This week Ending 30 th July.
I have this week been inspecting colonies in the North and Centre of Cumbria. Many of the colonies I found were very short on stores and on the point of starvation.
A few had stopped the queen laying and the odd one was eating their brood!
Since up to a couple of weeks ago the weather seemed ok for the bees the finding of starving bees was a bit of a suprise to me and the beekeepers

The problem will be in more locations than I have been inspecting so PLEASE CAN YOU PASS THIS MESSAGE TO YOUR BEEKEEPING MEMBERS. ASAP.


Thanks
Stewart Beattie
Seasonal bee inspector "

I guess your flow is a lot weaker than you think.

Adam

 

[Queens59]

Newbee - but if they have put so much effort into the BB - would they have anything left for the super & stores? There musst be a point when they just 'can't' do any more mustn't there??

 

[Hivemaker.]

Same post was put on this forum Adam....regards starving bee's. Not been very much comming in around my area either for the past two or three weeks, athough seems to be plenty of things still in flower...so no your not doing anything wrong Mel...feed them and keep a close eye on there stores...they don't sound to be doing to bad for a nuc in june....did you get the carni's from Bdaddy.

 

[BKF Admin]

On another forum, banned from being referenced here, which it seems everyone else flits between (except perhaps you and the administrator!

Adam

You can reference the BBKA Adam,you just cant link to it.

Many of the county bee inspectors are members here,as are the mods of the BBKA,they just dont post much prefering to just read threads.

Regards everyone else flitting between the two sites,if that was true then the BBKA would have double the number of members/posts it has.

 

[Onge]

I don't flit I'm just here.

 

[JamesB]

First question is the origin of the queen - not Italian by any chance?

Regards, RAB

Lol actually not a bad question, my Dad always said they were the laziest bee's hes ever known

 

[Adam]

Lol actually not a bad question, my Dad always said they were the laziest bee's hes ever known

And well known thieves, so if any colony in the vicinity had a surplus, they've probably nicked it by now!

Adam

 

[mel1of4]

Many thanks for all the replies.
The queen is Carnolian (?) and yes I did get them from BDaddy!
It's really comforting to know that this is not just happening to us.
I don't know about lazy but they are certainly beautifully behaved bees - -ideal for a beginner!
I will keep my eyes on this forum much more closely from now on.

 

[Poly Hive]

Certainly yes you have the flora, I was up your way recently and thought the possibilities were very interesting indeed. Admired the clover and cast my eyes up to the moors too.

However here in the Midlands and I can only poost about my patch as conditions vary so much in the UK, and there has not been much at all if anything coming in this last three weeks.

I would feed them too if they have nothing at all. Better safe than sorry and before some wail about contaminating honey, pleas note there is no honey here to contaminate.

And aye mind a starved colony gathers NO honey at all nor ever will....

PH