Background:A friend called me up to come get a swarm of bees. We put them in a hive, one deep box at the base with one more on top to hide a mason-jar sugar feeder.
I think we have the queen, but am not positive.
It's a smallish swarm, a weak hive. They've had a rough start with their combs falling over and everything.
We got three frames from the swarm box, but the comb fell off in transport. They each had only partial comb - nothing like a full frame. One had a black foundation, and the other two were foundationless.
I did my best to set them back up by rubber-banding in the frames, but everything was real soft from the heat and I wasn't that successful. Other bits and pieces of comb I put out of the hive for them to harvest.
After about a week they've removed the rubber bands. I checked, and the combs are still pretty ugly, leaning over on to one another, etc. I did my best again to separate and orient them vertically but I'm concerned I'm messing with them too much. The combs are soft due to summer weather.
A month has now passed and they are still buzzing. I am feeding them sugar syrup above the vent board, with another deep frame to cover it all.
Here come the questions:1) Our presumption is to give them only the one deep to build up for winter. Some have suggested after about 3 weeks we should put on the queen excluder and a medium frame for honey. We presume they'll need about two years to build up enough resources to become a strong hive. What's the right thing to do as far as adding frames?
2) As I stated above, their few combs are a bit of a mess. Since we won't be harvesting it or anything, should we just leave them be?
3) I filled the rest of the deep frame with wax foundation frames. They have started drawing comb on some of them. Should we try to group the original/full/empty frames into any sort of order?
4) We have been feeding them sugar syrup because we feel like they need all of the help they can get. I have read both sides of that argument but really want them to survive the winter. Should we keep feeding them?
5) We saw a hive beetle. Should we bother with that yet? There's lots of empty room in the hive so I could see that becoming an early problem.
6) The hive bottom is screened. There's lots of orange blobs and white crystals underneath that have fallen through. I presume the orange stuff is pollen? That seems like a waste if so. The white things almost looks like crystallized sugar chunks.
Happy bee place:
Inside the hive:
Really messed up comb:
The only intact frame that came with the swarm:
Some new comb on one of the foundations I put in:
Feeding: