# How quickly are bars built by the girls



## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

When you say you started from a nuc do you mean you cut in from a Lang nuc, or did have a top bar nuc. Of did you dump the bees from the nuc. If the hive was from an overwintered nuc you would expect great things, but otherwise maybe not so much. If they are making brood you are probably ok assuming there is enough forage for the next few months. When the brood matures you will get a bunch of bees and they will probably build a bunch of comb, assuming it is needed. Then as those bees mature they will forage and bring in stores.


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## llgoddj (Apr 11, 2012)

thanks for the quick reply. First, I bought the nuc as a top bar nuc from a local apiary that I drove (with my empty top bar hive in the car), he then took the 4 bars of comb and queen from a small box and placed them in to my hive and then "shook" the box empty into my top bar hive. Secondly, they are definitely making brood comb and there are eggs and larvae from my queen. I guess I just thought it would expand much quicker regarding them building honey comb. From what I have read I was expecting to have them build one to two honey combs a week, and this is not happening. I guess as long as there are at least 2-3 good months left, I hope to see additional combs coming soon? Just wait and hope for my first successful summer and pray they make it through the winter.


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## chaindrivecharlie (Apr 6, 2008)

4 bars is not much for a nuc, maybe you should try feeding 1to1 syrup. You can put it in a ziploc baggie inside on floor of your hive. That way they will have extra food to build comb with.


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## SRBrooks (Jun 24, 2012)

I started two TBHs in April, 2012. As of last week week, each hive had built out about seven bars of comb. They built like crazy, now seem to have slowed down. I fed them often at the beginning since they were brand-new hive set-ups, and I think this helped them get a strong start in building. At first, they were always starting new comb on the next available bar, but I no longer see that. We're up to 107 temp during the day in this area of Texas. The girls are bringing in a bit of pollen still, and I see many gathering water at the birdbath and pond. I'm leaving the hives alone for the time being due to the extreme heat, so I can't tell you much more than that re: continued comb build-out.


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## llgoddj (Apr 11, 2012)

OK, I will try feeding them and see if this makes a difference. Should I expect a different kind of honey if I am feeding them?


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

Yes, but at this point you want survival. You may have lost the foragers on the dump if you didn't leave you hive until night time.


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## SRBrooks (Jun 24, 2012)

Anything that goes into the honey will have some effect on the outcome, sure. I fed my bees organic, local honey since I had only two small hives. I used a Boardman feeder in each hive. I placed it inside the hive behind the false back, leaving the feeder entrance sticking out from under, into the main hive area. Much of my TBHs living area is not in use yet since the hives are just getting started, so there is still plenty of room for the feeders behind the false backs, even with large Mason jars. We had a tremendously strong wildflower season here, so I tried to keep the feeding consistent, but supplemental. Do you still have good forage in your area?


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## llgoddj (Apr 11, 2012)

Forage? No idea really, I live in a VERY suburban area. Houses, houses, houses! lots of grass, and of course the occasional forested area, park, or golf course within a couple square mile area. Don't know what else to say.


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

Visit Sams club and buy sugar in bulk. <grin>

You may be surprised by the forage. Go to google maps and look at an overhead satellite view. Think of a circle 2 miles in RADIUS. I was concerned in my area as it is suburban, but I just found out that there is 50 acres of alphafa within 1 mile of my house. It was over a small ridge and never knew it was there.


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## johnth78 (May 26, 2012)

Mine have never built a bar. Mostly they build hotels.


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## llgoddj (Apr 11, 2012)

more like dormitories than hotels!!!


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## SantaFeBeek (Jun 13, 2012)

Depending on your local circumstances, expectations of a honey harvest in the first year may be a reach. At least here in NM, it is rare that there will be enough stores in the first year to harvest anything. In the south, midwest, etc where there are many more plants and longer growing seasons, I've read that most beeks are able to harvest in the first year. So, try to focus on getting the bees to where they need to be to make it through the winter and look for much better growth and the ability to harvest honey in your second year.

How many combs above the four initial combs have been drawn? Depending on the strength of your colony, it helps to get more bars drawn by occasionally inserting an empty bar in between drawn combs. While the bees may not move to the next empty bar past a set of drawn comb, they tend to jump on drawing out empty bars placed between two fully drawn bars.

Good Luck!


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## JYawn (Dec 6, 2011)

I dont think you mentioned this yet.... How many bars to you actually have as of right now?

I hived a 3# package on 05/17/12 and I just did a split off of them last night. I had a total of about 14 bars of combs and plenty of bees to do the split.

The fastest I've seen them build a comb was when I stuck an empty bar right in the middle of their established brood nest. They had an entire new comb drawn out within 1 week. However, without doing that it was a bar every couple of weeks probably... after the first month that is. During the first few weeks they built faster than what I'm seeing on average now.


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

My guess is the weather is colder in NY and it takes longer to get things going. You do have a queen, correct?


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## BeeTech (Mar 19, 2012)

You have to build the bars, the bees will only draw out comb on them.


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## llgoddj (Apr 11, 2012)

absolutely have a queen, and larvae throughout my built combs.


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## llgoddj (Apr 11, 2012)

fourteen bars, wow!! how many of those are strictly honey? Or is the majority brood comb. I think I have 9-10 bars total, of which it looks like the last two of them are honey, but aren't completely drawn combs, probably only half the size of a full comb, and not by any means fully capped. Don't think there is any capped honey comb as of yet. That I know is NOT a good thing, but hoping and expecting there should be capped honey coming soon.


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## llgoddj (Apr 11, 2012)

duh!!!


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

OK, and it is not a laying worker. I'm surprised you haven't gotten more workers if they have had 6 weeks to work. Could be that you lost a lot of foragers and if you are not feeding them it is really hard on them.


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## llgoddj (Apr 11, 2012)

BeeTech said:


> You have to build the bars, the bees will only draw out comb on them.


duh!!!


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

They move the honey all over the place. You probably wont see honey only on drawn out combs unless you are on a strong nectar flow. Then they can sack it in there. Hopefully you have better summers than we do. Pretty soon things will slow down here and pick back up a bit in the fall. Don't plan on any harvest, but you could maybe rob a taste later towards fall. That is the least they could give you given all your hard work, especially if you start feeding them.


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## JYawn (Dec 6, 2011)

llgoddj said:


> fourteen bars, wow!! how many of those are strictly honey? Or is the majority brood comb.


only about 3 are strictly honey, and those three were the last three to be drawn out. I used one of them in the split I did. None of them have been capped either. All my brood combs have capped honey across the top of the combs but no capped honey combs. If you've got 10 bars it doesn't sound like you are much behind me. I wouldn't worry about it... You may have just had too high of expectations for a first year hive started in late spring.


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## llgoddj (Apr 11, 2012)

shannonswyatt said:


> They move the honey all over the place. You probably wont see honey only on drawn out combs unless you are on a strong nectar flow. Then they can sack it in there. Hopefully you have better summers than we do. Pretty soon things will slow down here and pick back up a bit in the fall. Don't plan on any harvest, but you could maybe rob a taste later towards fall. That is the least they could give you given all your hard work, especially if you start feeding them.


Thanks again for all of of your helpful input. And I will get in there to feed them either later today or over the weekend.
larry


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## Keefis (May 4, 2012)

Larry,
Just give them some syrup, they will eat it if they need it or they will fly right past it if they don't. You can't over do that. Someone posted that as the population grows, so does their production. Totally true. When the plants start providing more at the end of summer you will be pleasantly surprised with an exponential boom. Honey on the first year? if you are lucky. My mentor told me not to expect any this year and I started from a swarm this spring.


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## llgoddj (Apr 11, 2012)

Keefis said:


> Larry,
> Just give them some syrup, they will eat it if they need it or they will fly right past it if they don't. You can't over do that. Someone posted that as the population grows, so does their production. Totally true. When the plants start providing more at the end of summer you will be pleasantly surprised with an exponential boom. Honey on the first year? if you are lucky. My mentor told me not to expect any this year and I started from a swarm this spring.


thanks for the great info, plan on putting in some food mix hopefully today or tomorrow.


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## HoneyintheRox (Apr 4, 2012)

shannonswyatt said:


> You may be surprised by the forage. Go to google maps and look at an overhead satellite view. Think of a circle 2 miles in RADIUS.


I think my girls might be hanging around the home depot garden center that's half a mile from my house. They don't seem to hang in the garden and I always see a ton of bees there...I hadn't even considered it when I got them. I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing.


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