No capped drone brood

[LizzieBee]

Just looked in my hive yesterday. It?s been three weeks since I got them. There was a lot of capped brood, but I didn?t see any that resembled capped drone cells. Is that normal?

LizzieBee

[LizzieBee]

One more question. I currently have one deep ten frame brood box. When there are close to too many bees for that box and they?ve drawn all the comb, then do I add another brood box, or a honey super and queen excluder for honey? If it?s the second brood box, when should I add the honey super?

LizzieBee

[iddee]

If this was a package, no drone brood is expected. Packages starting out have no use for drones. You should decide what you need for a brood chamber. One deep. two deep, a deep and a medium, ETC. Once that brood chamber is mostly filled out and covered in bees, add a honey super without an excluder. If you MUST use an excluder, put it on after the bees begin drawing out the foundation in the super, not until. Bees are reluctant to go through an excluder into a super of foundation.

[Acebird]

You should decide what you need for a brood chamber. One deep. two deep, a deep and a medium, ETC.

You are making a decision on what configuration you want to use for overwintering.  Ultimately the bees will make the decision on what the brood chamber actually is if you don't use an excluder.  I recommend not using one the first year.  I also recommend pulling up a frame which will encourage the bees to accept the next box and help break the honey cap if there is one in the first box.  If the cap doesn't get broken and the honey consumed or moved then the brood nest will not expand.

[Van, Arkansas, USA]

Agree with Iddee and Ace, I don?t use queen excluders, even in my honey supers.  About the only time I use a queen excluder is when I am rearing queens.  Understand I am a hobbyist so I do things a little bit different, such as no queen excluders on honey supers.

[cao]

I think iddee and ace pretty much nailed it. 

then do I add another brood box, or a honey super and queen excluder for honey? If it?s the second brood box, when should I add the honey super?

It doesn't really matter whether you call it a brood box or honey super.  Unless you use a queen excluder, the bees will use however many boxes for brood as they require.  Like what was stated earlier you need to figure out what boxes you need for winter.  In my area, 1 deep and 1 medium or 3 mediums will overwinter.  So, if I were to use an excluder(which I don't), it would go above that.  Your area may be different.

When to add the honey super?  When the previous box is drawn and full of bees just like the first box.

The first year should be all about getting the bees built up enough to make it through the winter.  Sometimes that includes getting honey, but more often th bees need most of that themselves.

[Acebird]

Sometimes that includes getting honey, but more often th bees need most of that themselves.

If you are starting from scratch with a package you need one heck of a flow at the right time and no dearths to get enough honey that you can take from the hive.  This is because so much of their nectar goes into wax.

[LizzieBee]

I?m going to add another deep brood box next inspection. They?ll need two deep boxes for my winter. So I guess I?ll see how it goes and add the super when they?ve drawn comb on the second brood box.

LizzieBee

[BeeMaster2]

As far as your first question, bees do not make drone brood until their numbers get large enough to support the drones. First the bees have to be strong enough to survive then they start thinking about reproductive.
As to Queen excluders, I?m with everyone else, I do not use them except to keep a queen from a swarm in a hive for 3 days to force them to stay. In this case I put it on the bottom of the hive.
Jim