# Honey bound or just impatient?



## Bryanaw40 (Jun 11, 2006)

I started five hives from small cell Nucs here in SE Michigan this year and am a new beekeeper. Three in on April 27th and two more on May 9th. One hive from each source completed drawing out two boxes of small cell foundation and seem to be thriving (filling with brood, pollen and lots of nectar as I understand the spring flow was good around here this year) so I added one honey super on 6/8 the first and one later on the second hive on 6/21. The problem is, the bees are not touching them either of them. I even sprayed them with 1:1 sugar water to help their acceptance. I should also mention the foundation used in my medium honey supers is WT Kelly 7-11 foundation (slightly larger than standard foundation but smaller than drone). I am using deeps (4.9mm small cell) in the brood chambers.

Am I being impatient here or may I be honey bound? I have to say that my inspections of the lower boxes indicate a fair amount of nectar but I thought that was a good thing...so much to learn.

Do I need to just be patient or should I consider other moves. 

Thanks,
Bryan
Ortonville, MI


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

If there is indeed a flow, you could put some combs of honey from the brood box in the upper boxes (assuming they are the same size frames) to bait them up.


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## Bizzybee (Jan 29, 2006)

Pesky bees!!! They never do what they are told!!

You sure are right about the flows up there. You get a good one to kick off the year. Everything that has a flower to make in the spring, does so, all at once!

They sure can be a little temperamental about moving up sometimes. It helps to (bait em up) as the term goes. Which means, give them a drawn frame, preferably with brood but honey will do. Score it if it's capped. Drives em nuts, they can't stand a leak!  Since you don't have any medium frames drawn, I'm assuming from what you said. You can drop one in your deep box for a while and let them draw it out and do what they will with it. No more than a week if you have a good flow going. Move it back up to the top and go from there.

I really don't have any experience myself with the Kelley foundation you refer to. So I'll just leave that one alone. I will say though, I believe most beeks up your way prefer to keep 2 deep brood boxes or at least 1 deep and 1 medium for each hive. Winters are tuff there for the bees.

Best thing to try your best at, is finding the other beeks around you. The woods are full of em in MI! Most beeks love to talk!  You can learn loads from em! And none better than the ones in your own back yard. They know what it takes to keep them in your local climate.

I spend a lot of time on the other side of the state from you in Lowell. My best bee buddy is over there! I think I've met more beeks there than here in GA! Geeze, I may have to move up there! BRRRRRRRRRRRR no way dude!!!


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## Bizzybee (Jan 29, 2006)

Sorry, honey bound you mentioned.

Honey bound means that your bees are filling up all of your brood comb with honey as the young bees emerge. By doing so, they don't leave room for the queen to lay.

That you'll just have to do an inspection on your hives and make that determination and go from there. If that is in fact what you find happening. Make another post here somewhere. You'll get some help from someone.


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## naturebee (Dec 25, 2004)

Bryanaw40 said:


> ...Three in on April 27th and two more on May 9th.
> 
> ...I added one honey super on 6/8 the first and one later on the second hive on 6/21. The problem is, the bees are not touching them either of them.


Hello Bryan! 

Remember that these are nucs. In the northern states, I would be a very rare exception for a nuc started in the first week of May, and expending mass energies drawing out foundation to produce any sort of early surplus. 

A good signal that a colony is reaching the point of maturity and strength needed to move into the supers is when the colony starts rearing abundant drones, till then colony growth is foremost (Think possible fall surplus here).

Although baiting can be an effective means to get the bees in the supers. Remember that this is a colony in the growth stage, it is still a baby. Considering the weather patterns we’ve been having, I would probably tend not use aggressive tactics too early in the growth stage. Instead leaving the supers in place and letting the bees move up when they are good and ready. 

“How doth the little busy bee improve each shining hour, and gather honey all the day from every opening flower.” Isaac Watts, (1674-1748) Against Idleness

Joe Waggle ~ Derry, PA ‘Bees Gone Wild Apiaries' 
FeralBeeProject.com 
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/H...neybeeArticles


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## Bryanaw40 (Jun 11, 2006)

thanks to everyone for the input. I did an inspection yesterday and found many full frames (deeps) of capped honey plus a lot of other frames with a lot more than there should be. Still lots of brood, larvae in the lower box but only one frame of brood in the upper box.

I moved up 4 full/capped frames of honey from what should be the brood area of the 2nd box into a third deep super box and replaced these down below with small cell foundation.

thanks again for the help.
bryan
Ortonville, MI


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