I added a second brood box when my first was 60-70% full. The second box took off and all was going well. Second brood box was 60-70% full and looked good brood and eggs. I added a queen extruder then a honey super. It has been two weeks now and the second brood box is full of only capped honey and the honey super has nothing. Super does have bees in it but no evidence of building. I have not looked in the first brod box. Lots of bees and activity. Should i bee concerned i am now queenless?
Maybe they are packing it with supplies for winter. That’s just me throwing ideas in the air as your winters are VERY different to mine.
Rob.
I’m wondering if you could be expecting too much out of your bees, considering that 2 weeks ago, your 2nd brood box was only 60-70% full. Sometimes at certain times of the year bees can really surprise us as to how much they can do over a short period of time. It’s all relative to the size of the worker population, coupled with available food resources, plus various other factors. One example would be how much energy the bees could be using to cool the hive.
In relation to bees filling the second brood box with honey: I agree with Rob’s sentiments.
It would be good if you had a second hive to compare with, or even a local friend with bees to compare.
Bees normally follow instincts, however I’ve found that bee colonies are much like humans in that they all have their individual personalities. Having said that, it wouldn’t be unusual for 2 colonies side-by-side to do things slightly different to each other.
I could be expecting too much. I do see quite a bit of bearding on the front of the colony. I think that’s them trying to keep the hive cool.
My concern is the volume of honey in the second broid box eith not seeing and brood or eggs in it. Maybe I’m concerned for nothing. This is only my second year with bees. Last year i added a second box too late and they swarmed on me. I had to start over this year. So far everything is going well other than the top box of honey. I will monitor for the next week or 2
Even the most productive queen cannot lay in more than a few solid frames. A single brood box has more than enough space for the queen to lay to her full capability. The second brood box is for storage, not necessarily for brood.
As the winter progresses the bees, the cluster, will move upward to consume their saved honey and the brood nest will also move upward (with the queen) some northern beekeepers advocate reversing the brood boxes in the spring to “reset things” before adding supers.
Since you’re in Ontario too, you might consider reviewing the videos from the university of Guelph on YouTube.
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Thanks.
I don’t want to pull the top box off to look in the bottom for eggs. I think i do agree and do hope that they are storing onky and the queen is still there. I’ll check the honey box again in a week to see if there is any progress. Still lots of summer where i an in ontario.
Thanks for the reply. Certainly helps.
I’m not far from you in Ohio - there is also a lot of summer left here but very little nectar until the goldenrod and asters bloom in the fall.
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I have 55 acres of wild flower in bloom all summer behind me. I have 2 rows of spruce trees between the colony and the field. My goal is to split next year.
I hear you. I have some hives in a similar set up, not a lot of nectar between the spring, early summer and fall nectar flows despite hundreds of acres of wildflowers, soy, alfalfa, clover, etc. This year there has been a fair amount of rain so the clover is doing pretty well but still, not much compared to the spring.
You should talk to your locals and see what they say about nectar flows.
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