Very little food

[margob99]

I'm kind of worried about my colony's food stores.

The colony arrived 2 weeks ago as a 6-frame nuc (this is my one and only hive). I transferred the frames into a National brood box, and added 5 frames of foundation. I inspected a week later, and colony looked good with BIAS over 8 frames. Today I inspected again, and the colony is up to 9.5 frames (ie 1 full frame and a half/one side to go before it's full up).

What concerns me is I see lots of BIAS but very minimal stores of honey. Since arrival, I have fed the colony every single day - they schlurp up 2 litres of 1:1 syrup every 24 hours! I find this a bit concerning - (a) low stores and (b) encouraging a "feeding pattern" - ie a lack of a tendency to "store" and more of a tendency to rely on feed being there. ( I know, I know, that might sound a bit silly.)

I'm continuing to feed, but I am sitting here pondering alternatives. Clearly the brood box is nearly full up and I am going to have to, within a few days, add to it in some way.

What about adding another brood box on top - with a QX in between? That way, the bees would go up and fill brood-sized frames with comb and honey stores (if they read my mind properly). Then I could transfer store-filled frames to the bottom brood box (I am not too concerned if I don't get any honey for myself). And I may even be able to transfer a few of the original frames out of the bottom brood box, filled with BIAS, into a nuc and encourage a new Queen, and thus a second colony!

Does that all sound feasible?

 

[oliver90owner]

If they are doing well, they must be foraging for pollen for lots of brood.

20kg of sugar is a lot for just two weeks - do they have a honey arch over each frame as that will add up to a fair amount of stores.

Some strains of bee will make brood without apparent regard for stores, and then swarm at the drop of a hat!

If the box is basically full of brood, you have little alternative but to give more laying space. It seems that your queen may support a second brood.

If the strain is 'brood and swarm', you may be better investing in a different strain of queen for a second colony.

Regards, RAB

 

[northernsoul]

If you've got Brood on 9 frames then you need to give the q more room to lay. That means putting another box on top either a brood box (double brood) or a shallow box (brood and a half). Don't add a Q excluder as the Q won't lay up there and you risk swarm prep unless that's what you want and you can do an AS. (they'll be a fair few on this forum who'll say creating a Q from emergency cells, as is your plan, when you deprive a hive of a Q will result in an inferior q)

I would leave off the feed for now and see how they get on as they're relying on you to feed them rather than collecting.

 

[susbees]

What concerns me is I see lots of BIAS but very minimal stores of honey.

Sounds like they are Italian-type bees...renowned for turning every last drop of food into brood irrespective of the weather/flow. Hmm....

 

[Finman]

.
Another hive is robbing your hive. It is not possible that it consumes that much food. It is a tiny colony.

.

 

[Finman]

Sounds like they are Italian-type bees...renowned for turning every last drop of food into brood irrespective of the weather/flow. Hmm....

Heheheh. I have reared Italians 40 years.

They turn every sigle drop into brood in 2 weeks!!!!
I want those bees!!!

I think that they hide the food somewhere and they are going to escape to secret place!