I have a question about adding foundation to build a new colony
Example: I started a package on April 30 in a medium on foundation. I have no drawn comb to give them.
The bees are showing signs of wanting to swarm in that hive.
What is your advice?
If bees have queen cells, they are going to swarm. Hive in swarming fever does not build any foundations.
DO THIS:
* Move your hive in new place 5 feet apart or more.
* Put foundation box in old place and do it a hive.
* Take a queen and one frame of brood and put them into new hive.
Now they are not able to swarm. Flying bees go to new hive and start building. DO NOT FEED THEM! Idea is stop swarming. Let them be their own.
In old box new bees emerge and it will be a hive. You must get an egg laying gueen inside. From swarming queen cells you get ne queen but it take too long time taht it begins to lay eggs. And it has inherited tend to swarm.
Olf hive has a lot of food. DO NOT FEED IT!
I think that continuous feeding fills the tiny hive, queen has not enough space to lay eggs.
I have said in every place, that greatest danger in small hive is that honey fills combs and queen is not satisfied with brood space, So they want to swarm. That happens to beginner and no one can help them because they do not listen.
In my country small hives swarm very soon when they are near rape field. Hive will be full under one week. When I have mating nucs and it has 2 frame, another frame will be full of honey in one week and that little nuc will swarm. So simple. Rape field gives often 100 lbs honey per hive in one week.
You can see, how much it must be free space when I put hives on rape fiels. I must be prepared to take 200 lbs honey in two week from rape field. It is not usual, but I must be prepared. Soon after that I got fireweed yield. Get or not, but I must be prepared.
One farrar box has honey 30 lbs and Langstroth box 50 lbs.
One full langtroth frame may have 5 lbs honey.
Feeding and filling combs support swarming.
Extracting honey hinders swarming.