Hive Inspections

[Teena]

I am a new beekeeper, just started 2 hives last month. Started with 2 nucs on 8 frame deeps, 5 nuc frames and the rest foundationless frames. Both hives have already build out and on the 3 frames I put in and when I saw that they had started building on those 3 foundationless frames I put a 2nd medium box on, one totally foundationless, the other with starter strips in the frames. I didn't go looking for the queen cause both hives were soo full of bees.

After 2 weeks I assume everything is good cause there are lots more bees than in the beginning.
Question # 1. Should I expect that 2nd medium to be brood nest also?
              #2. How often should I be in there inspecting them? I don't want to disturb them too much.
              #3. How long will it take to build out that 2nd box and will it be brood etc. too?
              #4. When it is full do I put the shallow supers on and start watching those for honey?
That's enough questions for now.....more to come.
Thanks Y'all!
Teena

[FRAMEshift]

I am a new beekeeper, just started 2 hives last month. Started with 2 nucs on 8 frame deeps, 5 nuc frames and the rest foundationless frames.
Teena

Teena, welcome to Beemasters.    You didn't describe what the bees had done with your 3 foundationless frames or why you added some new frames with a starter strip and others without.  A good way to ensure that the bees draw foundationless frames straight and true is to interleave drawn comb with new foundationless frames.  The bees use the good comb on either side of a new frame as a guide to drawing the new frame.

You can to this by moving some of the drawn frames up into the second deep, alternating new and drawn frames in both boxes. 

As for adding shallow frames for honey, the bees will do what they want with those shallows.  It could be all honey, all brood, or a mixture. But once they start putting down all-honey frames, they will continue to do the same for subsequent higher boxes.

Please add your location in your profile.  That will help people in giving you advice in the future.

[tillie]

Also if you put one frame with a full sheet of foundation in the center of the box (or better yet, as you can do in the future, a couple of drawn comb frames being used for brood or honey), you provide a ladder to encourage the bees to come up into the new box.  

Linda T in Atlanta

PS Do you belong to Metro Atlanta beekeepers?  It's a great bee club - lots of informed members - next meeting Wed., May 9 at the Botanical Garden at 7 PM