Modified snelgrove II but wax not being drawn

[Steve99]

I've just done the second manipulation of a modified snelgrove II. I think it went as planned but have one question.

When I did the first manipulation I only had foundation to add to the frames of eggs/brood so I added an entrance feeder to encourage them to draw comb. However, 9 days later and none of the frames have even been started to be drawn. It was fresh foundation so I sprayed them with sugar syrup before adding as read that helps draw wax. Weather is now cooler so not great for drawing wax. The queen is now in a box full of bees and queen cells removed but very little comb to lay in. I was concerned she may swarm so added a QE below the brood box. Was that wrong? I plan to remove the QE in a few days. Should I do anything else?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Erichalfbee]

I've just done the second manipulation of a modified snelgrove II. I think it went as planned but have one question.

When I did the first manipulation I only had foundation to add to the frames of eggs/brood so I added an entrance feeder to encourage them to draw comb. However, 9 days later and none of the frames have even been started to be drawn. It was fresh foundation so I sprayed them with sugar syrup before adding as read that helps draw wax. Weather is now cooler so not great for drawing wax. The queen is now in a box full of bees and queen cells removed but very little comb to lay in. I was concerned she may swarm so added a QE below the brood box. Was that wrong? I plan to remove the QE in a few days. Should I do anything else?

Thanks,
Steve

I wouldn't have done a snelgrove without at least three or four drawn combs. I would have gone for a Pagden and paid the ultimate attention to managing the queen cells.
Can you put an empty drawn super on top?

 

[drex]

Wax drawing takes a lot of energy. Entrance feeders and spraying would not supply enough syrup.
I take it you have now done the second manipulation and returned the queen to the two frames of brood, on the original site. How many bees are there in this box? Up to this point they would have had little reason to draw comb, having no queen, just needing cells to store what they bring in. Bees only make comb when they need it.
If you have no flow on I would feed 2L at a time in a frame feeder, so as not to encourage robbing, from what will now be a small colony.
I have done four of these so far this season and have not had to feed, but as ERica says I used some drawn comb and some foundation

 

[Steve99]

There are lots of bees as came from a double national that was full and about to swarm. I had expected them to draw some wax so hadn't planned to add more frames of drawn comb when I was doing the 2nd part of the manipulation. I'm in my 2nd year now and only have one hive so don't have much drawn comb. I plan to use this to start a second hive.

I have a drawn super so could add that or I could remove some brood frames from the other hive as all in the double national are drawn.

I think I'll remove 5 or 6 drawn frames, which may also include eggs/brood from the double national. Do I shake off the bees before I add them? Is there a risk they'll use the eggs to make queen cells and swarm?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I would still top them with a drawn super and leave them as brood and a half till the bottom box is drawn. When it is you could reverse the boxes put the queen down add an excluder and use the shallow as a honey super.

 

[Steve99]

I'll do that.