Little brood space in the hive

[LizzieBee]

I have two deep ten frame brood boxes. The bees are starting to draw out the comb in the middle of the upper box. As soon as they draw some comb, the fill it up with either very light colored nectar or water, I can't tell which one. I'm concerned that the queen will have no more space to raise brood. currently she has about eight frames of brood at different stages. The lower box has two frames that haven't been drawn out.

[Dustymunky]

The bees are storing nectar. Sounds like you have a good flow going on now. Generally you want the brood nest in the center. If you have a full frame of nectar/honey in the middle 4 spaces you can move it to outside edge. If the brood nest gets clogged up with nectar the hive will most likely prepare to swarm. Sounds like its getting close to honey super time!

[BeeMaster2]

Lizzie,
Are you feeding them? If so that is causing the problem. Remove the sugar water.
Jim

[AR Beekeeper]

Lizzie, your bees are doing what they should be doing, drawing foundation out into comb and storing nectar.  With a new colony the first goal is to have all frames of foundation drawn into comb, especially in the brood nest, then the surplus honey supers.

Bees are slow to work the outside frames when drawing comb.  The beekeeper must move drawn comb to the outside and place the undrawn foundation toward the middle, usually between frames of sealed brood or sealed honey.  This aids in having the comb drawn to a uniform depth.  Bees draw the foundation best when either between brood, or just above brood in an upper box. 

If you have 8 frames of brood, your 2 deep colony will be overflowing with bees when the young bees emerge.  If you don't have surplus honey supers now, you should get 2 so you can put them on when needed. 

[beepro]

It is time to get some drawn comb for your hive.   Try to look in CL to find some locally.  Our CA flow is
on currently.  With or without the sugar syrup they will fill up the empty cells.

[LizzieBee]

I?ll add the super once they?ve drawn the comb in the upper box.I stopped feeding them about two or three week after installing them. It?s been six weeks since I got them.

Lizzie

[Acebird]

Lizzie I wouldn't worry too much about this situation.  What you are describing sounds normal to me.  The bees are using their top box.  What could be better than that?  In time what should develop is a honey dome two to three inches thick.  At that point it is super time.  In my area what ever they put in the supers is yours.