"seby" <seb.a.wd@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> I recently (last Tuesday) got a new nuke, and I noticed that many of
> the mature bees were already focusing on honey stores rather than hive
> preparation and expansion. I have tried giving pollen substitutes
> (yeast) and also leaving bee candy in order to minimise work on food
> thus maximising labour focused on hive work, unfortunately they
> haven’t touched either and seem to be content staying only on the 3
> frames supplied with the small nuke. I have inspected these frames,
> located the queen, and she seems to have suspended laying due to lack
> of space, I am very concerned as I planed to split the hive early next
> year (later this year if they really took).
> Furthermore, this seems a massive waste, as she is a well bred queen
> at her laying peak.
The only thing you should do at this point is feed them 1:1 (by weight)
sugar-water - your bees are rightly more concerned with having sufficient
food stores for the current numbers - the queen won't start to expand her
laying until she is satisfied there is enough food in the area. Also they
may be indicating to you that you are going to have a cool wet summer and
so
are expecting less than usual nectar flow and pollen.
Be patient - they've only been in the hive a couple of weeks - trust that
they know what's best for their longterm survivability and prosperity.
--
Dominic Richens | knob@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"If you're not *outraged*, you're not paying attention!"
|
