should there be capping?

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rink123

House Bee
Joined
May 27, 2011
Messages
138
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Location
shropshire
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
3
Hi All,
I have looked on my first 3 frames and taken photo's to show , I can't see any capping is this ok ? I will look at the middle frames soon but I don't want to loose my queen. I am inexperienced learning as go. Can any one see any problem on the frames please? I bought the bees on supers and the keeper said to put the brood box above and they will move up, so thats what I have done , I think the bees are moving up but they are trying to join the super frames on to the brood frames, should I just keep seperating them ?
thankyou for looking and thankyou in advance for any advise:)
 
it's a bit late in the season to expect the bees to draw 11 frames of foundation. are you feeding them?

you could try drumming the super to get them up - see another thread.

re the comb between boxes - do you have the same format for both boxes (both either top or bottom bee space NOT a mix)? make sure the top frames run directly above those below.
 
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Have you joined your local BKA? You need some hands on help.

I don't think it was great advice you were given. Sorry.
 
it's a bit late in the season to expect the bees to draw 11 frames of foundation. are you feeding them?

you could try drumming the super to get them up - see another thread.

re the comb between boxes - do you have the same format for both boxes (both either top or bottom bee space NOT a mix)? make sure the top frames run directly above those below.

Thank you for the speedy response .So do you think it would be best to take the brood box off and just leave them in the super they are in for the winter? I am feeding them 1pint of water to 1 lb of sugar and they are taking all of it in one day.
Yes I have joined our local BKA , I have invited someone to come and take a look but in the meantime I thought I would post here
 
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well look like a few uncaped larva or iss it pollen, its a bit indistinct but no capped brood, i doubt they will draw more than a few frames above the old box at this time of year and it will be a big space for them to keep warm in september/october

what is the inside of the hive painted with?
 
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well look like a few uncaped larva or iss it pollen, its a bit indistinct but no capped brood, i doubt they will draw more than a few frames above the old box at this time of year and it will be a big space for them to keep warm in september/october

what is the inside of the hive painted with?

I think its uncapped larva , perhaps best to remove the brood box then.
the super they came in isn't painted its just wood , the paint on the brood box is emultion I now know I should have left it wood :banghead:
 
Do you have any sealed brood on those super frames? - looks like it will need some careful nursing to be viable for the winter.
 
"what is the inside of the hive painted with?"

whatever it was looks like it was done with the frames in situ!!!
 
Do you have any sealed brood on those super frames? - looks like it will need some careful nursing to be viable for the winter.


Thank you ,I have to look on the middle frames tomorrow to see if they have any
 
ok, so this is not a normal nuc then,it is a super full of bees with Q

how many super frames are in the super box, is it a full 10 or 11

i can understand why he said get them to move up as it is not a full size nuc but a super of brood and queen

you might get them to move up first onto five deeps frames in the middle of the brood box by putting the frames over over the middle of the super brood area with the rest of the brood box filled with insulation

i have never try to transfer a brood super to a hive ( i use three 14x12 frames nuc for splits)

perhaps you could transfer only the brood super frames direct into the deep brood, foundation either side then a dummy board and fill the rest of the space with founcdation to cold side then put the super frames left above the crown board untill the clean them and coninue feeding 50% 1:1......any one else have ideas,
 
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"what is the inside of the hive painted with?"

whatever it was looks like it was done with the frames in situ!!!

No, surely that would be almost impossible :) I made the frames out of other wood that did have a bit of paint on I just sanded it to make it smooth ,so some of the paint is not removed .
 
Thankyou MuswellMetro for the help, there are 10 frames on the super .
The man I bought them from is very old school bee keeping ,and self taught he is 78 years old and has 9 full hives he has sold 5 the same as this, never wears a suit , he said if we need help he will come to our house but he was quite hard to understand even though he was very nice person.

The frames shown in this thread are the 2nd and 3rd from the left
 
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If you need to you can convert the frames to brood frames.
You have to be handy tho

Here is what i have done before. take frame shake it so theres less bees to annoy then you add a cut down manly/hofman frame to the bottom of the frame and nail a strip of light galvo band to both the new section and the old frame do the same on the other side then add the first bottom bar and then wax this section with wax you have cut from full sheets then put on bottom bar as normal this should get you to full brood length with framed wax. (be warned they will try to propolise the join to the wall. because the bee space is wrong at the joint )

Otherwise you could just move the frames into the brood and let them build brace comb under it and trim anything that doesnt follow the line of the frames.
Or give them a super to build into instead of a brood it will be easier for them to move into
 
If you need to you can convert the frames to brood frames.
You have to be handy tho

Here is what i have done before. take frame shake it so theres less bees to annoy then you add a cut down manly/hofman frame to the bottom of the frame and nail a strip of light galvo band to both the new section and the old frame do the same on the other side then add the first bottom bar and then wax this section with wax you have cut from full sheets then put on bottom bar as normal this should get you to full brood length with framed wax. (be warned they will try to propolise the join to the wall. because the bee space is wrong at the joint )

Otherwise you could just move the frames into the brood and let them build brace comb under it and trim anything that doesnt follow the line of the frames.
Or give them a super to build into instead of a brood it will be easier for them to move into
Looking at those frames/spacers I would suggest they have been around for many years! .
I would see if I could over Winter them on these frames , come next Spring I would place a full sized brood chamber complete with hoffman frames/foundation direct on top of the supered bees and feed with 2-1 feed . This would give them the best chance to draw the comb and move up there! Once madam is established in the upper box I would burn the super plus its contents :)
VM
 
Thank you both for the advise , I think I will try to over winter them on the frames they are on maybe move to the broodbox , and hopefully next spring I will be able to sort them out properly thanks again;)
 
ok, so this is not a normal nuc then,it is a super full of bees with Q

how many super frames are in the super box, is it a full 10 or 11

i can understand why he said get them to move up as it is not a full size nuc but a super of brood and queen

you might get them to move up first onto five deeps frames in the middle of the brood box by putting the frames over over the middle of the super brood area with the rest of the brood box filled with insulation

i have never try to transfer a brood super to a hive ( i use three 14x12 frames nuc for splits)

perhaps you could transfer only the brood super frames direct into the deep brood, foundation either side then a dummy board and fill the rest of the space with founcdation to cold side then put the super frames left above the crown board untill the clean them and coninue feeding 50% 1:1......any one else have ideas,

your right
 
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