Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: How can I encourage comb building?  (Read 2681 times)

Offline Wes Sapp

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 133
  • Gender: Male
How can I encourage comb building?
« on: June 07, 2007, 09:48:43 pm »
I put a second medium super on about three weeks ago and the bees won’t draw any new comb in it. I have a deep were the queen is content to lay wall to wall. Next is a medium super that is 80% drawn out with a lot of capped honey and pollen in it but no brood. The bees have been hanging out on the outside of the deep in the evening like they are over crowed but there’s plenty of room in the upper super. How can I encourage them to use the top super? Can I just switch the two supers or what?
Wes Sapp

Offline LocustHoney

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 183
  • Gender: Male
Re: How can I encourage comb building?
« Reply #1 on: June 07, 2007, 09:54:35 pm »
I am being told to feed 1:1 sugar water for drawing of comb. ????? They won't draw any new comb without the flow going on...right??

Offline Kathyp

  • Global Moderator
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 20454
  • Gender: Female
Re: How can I encourage comb building?
« Reply #2 on: June 07, 2007, 10:14:20 pm »
swap super 2 and 3 if there is no brood in 2.  put a couple of the frames of honey and pollen in what is now box 2.  put empty frames in what is now 3.

if there is any brood in the current #2 box, move it to new #2 box when you swap.  that way you keep the brood together.
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline Brian D. Bray

  • Heavenly Beekeeper
  • Heavenly Beekeeper
  • Galactic Bee
  • ********
  • Posts: 7369
  • Gender: Male
  • I really look like this, just ask Cindi.
    • http://spaces.msn.com/thecoonsden
Re: How can I encourage comb building?
« Reply #3 on: June 07, 2007, 10:16:30 pm »
Put the new super between the brood chamber and the existing honey super.  If you're between flows the bees may be in a mode of just bringing enough nectar to sustain the amount in the hive.  If there is more than a sustaining amount they will build comb very slowly until the next flow starts.  
Putting the new super between the others makes the bees pass over undrawn spaces--they hate that so they are more apt to draw comb with the new super between.  

I don't go for feeding just to force drawing comb.  The bees will put a portion of it into stores thereby deluting your pure honey with sugar syrup.
Life is a school.  What have you learned?   :brian:      The greatest danger to our society is apathy, vote in every election!

Offline rdy-b

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 2286
Re: How can I encourage comb building?
« Reply #4 on: June 07, 2007, 10:32:12 pm »
Try takeing full or almost full frames from first supper and alternate with empty or undrawn frames in the second supper so first and second are both "checker boarded" with full empty full empty and so on.if there is any kind of surplus to be made the bees will make short work of it   ;) works for me 8-) RDY-B

Offline Understudy

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 4641
  • Gender: Male
    • http://www.understudy.net
Re: How can I encourage comb building?
« Reply #5 on: June 09, 2007, 12:43:31 am »
Crush the unions.
When the bees start threating to strike, you send in the wasp goons.



Sincerely,
Brendhan
The status is not quo. The world is a mess and I just need to rule it. Dr. Horrible