Slow to draw foundation after AS

[RogerJ]

I did an AS 13 days ago and the Q+ (allegedly) hive seems very slow to draw out the foundation - having seen various comments to indicate that it can be quite quick. There were some larvae 2 days ago so something is laying (never been able to actually see eggs!) - and the bees do seem busy in the supers.

I know the weather has been up and down in terms of temperature so am I being impatient or is something else going on? There were some queen cells 2 days ago on the side of the frame of brood that was placed in the Q+ hive and I have destroyed those.

Thanks.

 

[wessexmario]

If they have sufficient cell space in comb already drawn, then the bees will concentrate of filling that (with nectar and/or brood) before drawing any raw foundation.

Be wary of destroying queen cells without knowing whether they're swarm, supersedure or emergency cells. If the latter and there's no queen and no eggs being laid then you could turn a simple Q- colony into a non-viable one.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Different to an actual swarm, I find that Q+ side of a Pagden A/S does not go bonkers drawing comb. You have to realise that in a 'proper' swarm there is a large proportion of young bees with fully functioning wax glands. In an A/S there is a much higher proportion of older bees whose wax glands have atrophied and are not as efficient.

 

[masterBK]

A typical AS consists of the queen and the flying bees so this is not unexpected. Flyers are generally at least 18 days old and their wax glands have declined considerably since their time as wax producing house bees (peak wax production is by 12 day old bees). The wax glands of flyers can become active again but they are never as good at producing and building wax. Real swarms have a high proportion of younger bees so have no problem producing wax and building comb.

 

[Cussword]

You both said the same thing. My heavens,,,, beekeepers agreeing.





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[bjosephd]

You both said the same thing. My heavens,,,, beekeepers agreeing.