No interest in honey super

[lusklabs]

I picked up a swarm a couple of months ago, all (appears) has been going okay, the frames in the brood box have all been drawn out and the queen has been busy laying.


About ten days ago a super was added and when I looked in on Sunday no comb had been drawn and there was only a handfull of bees in there.


Any ideas ?

 

[gtb]

I picked up a swarm a couple of months ago, all (appears) has been going okay, the frames in the brood box have all been drawn out and the queen has been busy laying.


About ten days ago a super was added and when I looked in on Sunday no comb had been drawn and there was only a handfull of bees in there.


Any ideas ?

If you have a queen excluder in place, take it off for a while so that the super is a continuation of the brood box. Once they start drawing it you can put the qx back (checking the queen is below first of course).

 

[jean]

I the frames in the brood box have all been drawn out and the queen has been busy laying.

Have the drawn cells been filled and capped on the inner sides of the outer frames?

 

[Poly Hive]

Is there a honey flow at all?

PH

 

[East Yorks New Bee]

Try spraying the foundation with sugar syrup. Its got my bees drawing out the foundation.

 

[BKF Admin]

Take a filled comb from your other hive and add it to the empty super,also as above - do you have a flow on ?

 

[Geoff]

I had same problem and I was told to try taking the excluder off which I did not fancy. Someone also said to try putting another super on as well. As that was easier yesterday I put another super with undrawn comb on top. Have just looked in and the bees are drawing out comb in the bottom super.

 

[lusklabs]

Thanks for all the replies.

If you have a queen excluder in place, take it off for a while so that the super is a continuation of the brood box. Once they start drawing it you can put the qx back (checking the queen is below first of course).

I read on here somewhere that the qx can be left off which I did for about four days before putting it back on. The super was fairly full of bees but when the qx was put on they all decided it was better down under.

Have the drawn cells been filled and capped on the inner sides of the outer frames?

Only on the inside of both frames. Does this mean that they have to draw out all frames before moving upwards ?

Is there a honey flow at all?
PH

On most of the frames, especially the inner ones, the top quarter has honey and has been capped.

Try spraying the foundation with sugar syrup. Its got my bees drawing out the foundation.

Can see the logic here

 

[jean]

Does this mean that they have to draw out all frames before moving upwards ?

Have to ? No. Want to ? That's up to them. I never put on a super unless the bees show signs that they need/are soon going to need more space.
If you put it on and they don't go up, it means that they think they have better things to do down below. They know best. And unless you're about to have a big flow, they don't need drawn comb ready in the super.
And it is a swarm after all-your aim should be to get them into winter as a strong colony for next year.
The *shoulds* are only me talking to me

 

[Poly Hive]

I think that was coincidence Geoff.

If the bees are not keen to go up to one super which is extra space obviously why would they want to go up into double the space. No sense there at all.

Bees will go up through excluders when they are ready and when hte conditions are right. If it is cold/wet and or no flow then they will ignore it. When the sun breaks through and the flow is on then watch out.

Bearing in mind I am always giving foundation and so have it even harder than most I have no problems with them getting going PROVIDED the conditions are right.

They canna be forced remember.

PH

 

[Hawklord]

How about adding a 2nd brood chamber above the queen excluder and moving a frame of stores up from the lower chamber, bruise the cappings and add some shallow frames? Once onto the shallow frames the upper brood chamber and deep frame could be swapped for a super. Well that's my idea for what it's worth.