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General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #10545  by JoJo36
 12 Apr 2021, 17:31
Thank you!

I'm already thinking of feeding now and taking off both supers on each hive in a day or two but if they're not starving perhaps they may want the extra room when about 14 degrees next week and filling with food in brood will leave little room for queen to lay??!! Most of this sounds like guess work and/or a gamble, I just hope I have ebbed on the side of caution!!
 #10550  by AdamD
 13 Apr 2021, 13:38
Within your brood box, how many frames of brood are there and how many frames of stores and how many empty frames? If you are anticipating better weather next week and there's forage about, then a frame or two of stores is enough. It seems like you have plenty of (syrup) stores in super frames. If it's capped, it can be stored elsewhere for the coming winter.
 #10551  by JoJo36
 13 Apr 2021, 20:31
I haven't looked inside the brood box on either hive as it was too chilly today but dropped a couple of syrup frames in the otherwise empty super above each brood for quickness!
If it warms up the end of the week or beginning of next I will take a good look and check for brood, food, space and eggs if any?!
I just didn't want them to starve with this cold spell!~Yes you are right re spare capped syrup frames I do have plenty stored away a couple of weeks ago but pulled a couple out "just in case"!!!!:)
 #10552  by JoJo36
 14 Apr 2021, 15:14
sunny and warm earlier so took the opportunity to have a look!!

Hive 1 had about 6 frames of brood but patchy, had eggs and larvae but no food!!
I dribbled sugar syrup on 3 brood frames and left the empty super above with 1.5 syrup frames for bees, thought I would check next week when warmer!

Hive 2 Again had about 5-6 frames of sealed brood a little patchy in some places but this one had plenty of stores.
I left the super above with undrawn comb and 1 frame of syrup with a feeder above to encourage bees to draw out frames.

Hive 3 (farmers hive falling apart) last week decided to carry out a bailey comb change. They have feeder and have drawn around 6 brood frames. I looked today to see if I could find queen BUT I couldn't and only found sealed brood, no larvae and 2 queen cells on the face of two different combs!!!!!!!! Ifirst thought swarm and then decided as I couldn't find the queen or eggs or larvae, the queen could be dead or failing and they may be supercedure cells??!!
I put everything back together and put on feeder and just left them!!
I really hope Ive done the right thing but I'm not going to dwell on it as I will be afraid to do anything, but, I really hope I've not just witnessed swarm cells and lost a hive:(

The bees in all the hives were very quiet and happy to see me with a large jug of sugar syrup!! :)
 #10553  by Alfred
 14 Apr 2021, 16:34
Copied the idea Nigel found using kitchen-drawer resource.

Image

Im nurturing a one-seam colony at the moment so we'll see if this can drown them...Image
 #10568  by AdamD
 15 Apr 2021, 12:39
JoJo36 wrote:
14 Apr 2021, 15:14
sunny and warm earlier so took the opportunity to have a look!!


Hive 3 (farmers hive falling apart) last week decided to carry out a bailey comb change. They have feeder and have drawn around 6 brood frames. I looked today to see if I could find queen BUT I couldn't and only found sealed brood, no larvae and 2 queen cells on the face of two different combs!!!!!!!! Ifirst thought swarm and then decided as I couldn't find the queen or eggs or larvae, the queen could be dead or failing and they may be supercedure cells??!!
I put everything back together and put on feeder and just left them!!
I really hope Ive done the right thing but I'm not going to dwell on it as I will be afraid to do anything, but, I really hope I've not just witnessed swarm cells and lost a hive:(

The bees in all the hives were very quiet and happy to see me with a large jug of sugar syrup!! :)
If you moved the queen up to new comb, above a queen excluder and the bees and brood remained below the excluder, the queen could be left in the cold during a cool spell and then die. (Yes, done that and the books don't explain this can happen!) - you need brood and not just eggs - to get the bees to move up above the excluder and then keep both the queen and brood warm. Once there is new comb and brood with the queen, then the old brood frame can be moved down below the excluder.
 #10571  by JoJo36
 15 Apr 2021, 12:51
Couldn't find queen, eggs or larvae just two queen cells one capped about a third down on two different frames!
I've guessed maybe supercedure and just put all back, feed above and thought maybe look in 3 weeks time (if there are any bees there??!!!)
If a possible swarm then I've done the wrong thing (not the first time)??!!
 #10608  by Alfred
 20 Apr 2021, 15:06
The feeder mod appears to work
Ive checked the progeess on its maiden voyage- theres about an inch drop in fluid level in two days ( one seam colony) and no carcasses floating.
 #10612  by JoJo36
 21 Apr 2021, 05:26
Hi All Again!

I've got two hives with no/very little stores in brood but have a couple of supers of sugar syrup. Would you think that would be sufficient for them at this stage in year?! The queen has laid further towards the edges with more room now and if I added a contact feeder to fill up the end combs in brood, I'm thinking this will stop her laying or possibly get the bees thinking of swarming??!! Any advice appreciated, just good to hear other thoughts and ideas!

Lastly my 'farmers hive' with hopefully supercedure cell (one has disappeared) is still intact. If like it in a weeks time I'm thinking of a shook swarm into new national hive (on an old commercial at moment with black comb) and placing a frame of eggs from another hive for them to start creating a new queen??!! Its either that or buying one in??!!

Its very early but been thinking of my plans of action.

:shock: