Hi:
What would you do if this is your hive?
It's one year old. They are Italian bees. They have swarmed one time about a month ago.
The hive consist of two deep boxes and two shallow suppers.
About six weeks ago I inspected the hive and all was well. Good brood pattern and a reasonable amount of brood in both deep boxes good bit of honey around the edges (normal). They had drawn four or five frames of the first supper.
Inspected again five weeks ago and found sixty to seventy percent of the first supper with capped honey so I added the next supper. I opened the top deep box and found more honey/pollen than brood the bottom box was the same more honey/pollen than brood. There were signs the queen was doing her job, saw fresh eggs in some of the empty cells.
Cheked again three weeks ago and found nothing in the top supper (the last one I added) no drawn comb nothing it was as it they ignored it. The supper that had the capped honey, it all had been uncapped and there were cells that were just half full, but there were no empty cells, checked the top deep box and it was full of honey/pollen, no empty cells at all, checked the bottom deep box found some empty cells and a little brood but it was very scattered and lots of honey/pollen. Found the queen and she looked OK.
I pulled three of the nine frames out of the bottom and replaced them with frames with just foundation (that's all I had). pulled three frames out of the top box and replaced them with frames with foundation only (checker board pattern). Put the supper with foundation only on top of the top deep box, then the supper (that had origanally been capped) on top of that.
Checked them today, The top supper was capped again, the next supper about half drawn with brood in it. the top deep box still full of honey/pollen even the empty frames put there three weeks ago. One side on each of two older drawn out frames was empty. On one of the frames that had the open side there were thirty (I counted them) capped drone sells and fifty six more drone cells being drawn nothing else on that side. On the other frame with the open side there were cells with multiple eggs (laying worker) but no capped cells.
The bottom deep box was full of honey/pollen execpt the three empties that I had added three weeks ago. There was a decent brood pattern in them the three with honey around the edges. The queen was on it and looked fine.
What do I do about all the honey in the deep boxes? Is there any way to intice the bees into moving it into suppers?
What should I do about the brood that is in the top supper, move it to the bottom, leave it alone, what?
What about all those drone cells I'm sure they will be filled with drones. will that hurt anything I don't think so but I'm not sure?
What about the signs of laying workers that was only on one side of one frame in one deep box.
Do I just add more boxes/suppers and let mother nature take its course?
I was so hopeing to get some honey this year but it doesn't look promising.
I applogize for such a long post but I couldn't figue out how to ask the questions with out the history behind them.
Hope someone can help I surely need it.
Barnabus
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