Hello All
The bees in my colony took a very long time to colonise the flow frames even though I put some wax in them when I put the super on. In the last couple of inspections I noticed that the honey in the flow frames was located to the front of the hive to the point that the third of the comb that is close to the back (harvesting) window is not even waxed. The frame that faces the lateral window has barely any waxing at all (I sealed the window with silicone and the cover is always on), with only some cell gaps sealed with wax. I thought that it was a matter of time until the started working in this area but there is fully capped honey in most of these frames and the bees seem to have stopped expanding towards the back end of the hive, despite the good warm weather we had in the last couple of weeks.
I have seen plenty of bees walking around the empty area on a warm day but I don’t see any progress in in the waxing of the plastic combs, Not even the gaps within cells are filled up.
Now the weather has changed and I’m not keen in opening the hive as it is too cold. Does anyone has any idea of why this is happening?
I’m not sure whether to harvest the honey and remove the super for the winter (and then feed if necessary?) or to wait to see whether they put more wax. I’m expecting a low level of activity for the next week or so as the temperature will continue to be between 5 and 17 degrees C, so I doubt they will do any work on those frames. Anyway, I’ll do nothing until a warmer day comes.
Suggestions appreciated
Thank you
Marcus