Nuc into hive...to feed, or not?

[Do224]

Thanks all....so 1:1 syrup, little and often seems to be the order of the day. I’ll try and start feeding as of next week as the weather is supposed to get a bit wet too

The bees are at an out apiary so not as convenient to be topping up syrup regularly as it might be but I’ll do what I can...

 

[user 20297]

fondant or syrup they will store it as honey

I agree, they must store all sugars as honey. But not necessarily always.....

 

[user 20297]

Thanks all....so 1:1 syrup, little and often seems to be the order of the day. I’ll try and start feeding as of next week as the weather is supposed to get a bit wet too

The bees are at an out apiary so not as convenient to be topping up syrup regularly as it might be but I’ll do what I can...

...out apiary.....perfect; it's naturally going to naturally interrupt the unnatural "flow".

 

[Ian123]

I've seen a reliable blog where there was photographic evidence that the bees had stored fondant as fondant!

Possibly set ivy in the cells and they just assumed

 

[user 20297]

Possibly set ivy in the cells and there just assumed

Yes, after @jenkinsbrynmair made his point (is he ever wrong...or are you for that matter?), I started to wonder. The woman who photographed that is a very good beekeeper with a fairly high profile. I'll not rattle her by suggesting she's wrong, but will keep my powder dry in case the subject arises again.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I've seen a reliable blog where there was photographic evidence that the bees had stored fondant as fondant!

How?
Do they chop it up and move it in one piece?
They eat it and regurgitate it. So then what might it look like?

 

[Erichalfbee]

...

 

[user 20297]

How?
Do they chop it up and move it in one piece?
They eat it and regurgitate it. So then what might it look like?

I've no idea; have you? Didn't you see the context in which I was discussing this....post #25

 

[Erichalfbee]

I've no idea; have you? Didn't you see the context in which I was discussing this....post #25

Yes posted before I saw subsequent posts. Mea culpa.
it looks like ordinary nectar or syrup or honey by the way but I know you have arrived at the same conclusion. Somebody else reading the thread may find it helpful nevertheless

 

[user 20297]

Yes posted before I saw subsequent posts. Mea culpa.
it looks like ordinary nectar or syrup or honey by the way but I know you have arrived at the same conclusion. Somebody else reading the thread may find it helpful nevertheless

Yes...maybe the well-respected person who had deduced that fondant was transferrable entire? I was certainly fooled influenced by it. It's more evidence that it's necessary to look widely for beekeeping tips and answers......and then put it out for peer review on The Beekeeping and Apiculture Forum in order to get at the truth.

 

[madasafish]

I hadn’t thought of giving them fondant...I thought that was just a winter thing.

I didn’t realise it was a viable alternative to syrup and that they’d be more likely to build comb with it rather than store it as they may do with syrup.

I have just bought 9x12.5Kg fondant from STB (over £100 so no transport costs).

I use it :
to feed mini nucs
to feed splits/small nucs when no flow
For winter feeding
For queen cages
And as a backup for weak colonies.

The great advantage is that it appears to attract fewer wasps/robbers than syrup. (I have not carried out any tests so wdik) and you don't need to mix it when in a hurry.

Placing on topbars is far quicker than eke plus feeder etc.

Also read: Feeding fondant - The Apiarist

 

[pargyle]

I know the starter strips weren’t ideal but I was caught short as had three swarms arrive at my bait hives all at the same time so had to make do with what I had.

It's not the starter strips that are the issue ... even with full frames of foundation it is a lot to ask of them - ratio of bees to work required ... think about it ...

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Yes, after @jenkinsbrynmair made his point (is he ever wrong...)

It does happen - only this morning I thought it was only wind trying to sneak out.......
Luckily SWMBO had just dropped a fresh finished copy of the guardian in the truck for me to light the smoker with

 

[Do224]

It's not the starter strips that are the issue ... even with full frames of foundation it is a lot to ask of them - ratio of bees to work required ... think about it ...

A lot to ask for them to draw and fill a full brood box in time for winter? Swarm was caught tail end of June

 

[pargyle]

A lot to ask for them to draw and fill a full brood box in time for winter? Swarm was caught tail end of June

I’ve just transferred a nuc into a national brood box (it’s a small cast swarm I caught about 4 weeks ago).

So she was a virgin 4 weeks ago ? Small cast swarm ..so not that many bees to support brood rearing and foraging and comb drawing .. You don't have a lot of brood in there at present so really you only have August for them to draw out and fill 5 more frames ... assuming of course you don't have drawn frames and you are not donating emerging brood from another colony.

I'd rather overwinter a packed nuc with four frames of stores going into winter than the same colony in full hive with loads of spare space and/or even undrawn frames ...

 

[Do224]

So she was a virgin 4 weeks ago ? Small cast swarm ..so not that many bees to support brood rearing and foraging and comb drawing .. You don't have a lot of brood in there at present so really you only have August for them to draw out and fill 5 more frames ... assuming of course you don't have drawn frames and you are not donating emerging brood from another colony.

I'd rather overwinter a packed nuc with four frames of stores going into winter than the same colony in full hive with loads of spare space and/or even undrawn frames ...

Thanks, yeah the swarm arrived with a virgin. She was mated pretty quick and had capped brood after two weeks, so I think bees should be starting to emerge about now.

The ‘nuc’ was just a homemade ply box so not great for overwintering from what I hear. I guess whether they’re in the nuc or the hive, either way I’ll have to help them out with insulation.

Yeah it’s my first year so I only have foundation to give them, no drawn comb. The apiary is close to a river which has quite a bit of Himalayan balsam along the bank so hoping there could be a decent late summer flow to help them out

 

[Do224]

I’ve actually got another nuc in an almost identical state to the one I’ve just transferred. I was intending to do the same thing with it and get it into a hive this week. Obviously now having second thoughts after reading much of the above!

I suppose I could just combine the two together. If so, should I at least give them the chance to build up independently and then combine in Sept if they fail to make it on their own...or should I just combine them now?

 

[pargyle]

I’ve actually got another nuc in an almost identical state to the one I’ve just transferred. I was intending to do the same thing with it and get it into a hive this week. Obviously now having second thoughts after reading much of the above!

I suppose I could just combine the two together. If so, should I at least give them the chance to build up independently and then combine in Sept if they fail to make it on their own...or should I just combine them now?

Personally ... I would let them build up independently - see which queen performs best then combine later on (plenty of time left for that) if needs be - keep the stronger of the two queens. If they both build up - take them both through winter.

 

[Do224]

Personally ... I would let them build up independently - see which queen performs best then combine later on (plenty of time left for that) if needs be - keep the stronger of the two queens. If they both build up - take them both through winter.

Grand, thanks that sounds like a plan. Would you feed?

 

[pargyle]

Grand, thanks that sounds like a plan. Would you feed?

Depends on how much they have in the way of stores they in there now and how muc forage there is around your location. Some syrup may help them draw frames out but beware we will shortly be getting in to wasp season ... keep the entrances as small as you can.