Single brood box for winter

[JonnyPicklechin]

I have a hive from a summer split in June. It's very healthy from the sense of good foraging activity but the colony seems reluctant to build comb. Queen is laying and still good brood. I've started feeding from beginning of September with a bag of Apifondant and the bees are taking readily but they still have 4 frames with only low levels of wax.
I'd plan to add a super above them for winter in the hope they would build out quickly and fill with stores and insulation.
What tips on readying them for winter?

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[Amari]

Bees are reluctant to draw comb at this time of year. Could you 'borrow' some drawn brood comb from another beekeeper and then feed 2:1 syrup? In my experience bees take down fondant very slowly compared with syrup. If you do nothing it would be best to replace the frames of foundation with insulation to reduce the empty air space - but you'd risk starvation. To summarise, your colony needs to lay down stores for winter asap.

 

[Swarm]

Give them syrup in a rapid feeder, you want to simulate a bit of a flow.

 

[Erichalfbee]

If they were mine I would take out three frames and put the colony in an eight frame Paynes poly nuc box. A nuc with the feeder taken out is absolutely ideal for such a situation. Failing that dummy down the box with PIR insulation. You need to go floor to crown to sides with that, not like a dummy board. Now that the bees are in a box size they can manage feed them with fondant and keep some on all winter, pop a hive cosy on top and half close the omf
Don't super them. It will be empty space above and they will not draw any frames.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Give them syrup in a rapid feeder, you want to simulate a bit of a flow.

Do you think such a small colony would draw brood combs?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Sounds like you've been listening to a lot of rubbish from the other source. Why put a super on?
Forget the apifonda,they won't draw comb from that, feed them syrup and forget the super. Keep them in the single brood box and feed, if they get a bit light after Christmas, put some fondant on.

 

[Swarm]

Quite possible, it was a June split so not that young, it's worth a try. I'm sure the bees would have drawn those frames already though with a little manipulation of the combs.