Feeding Syrup To Boost Wax Production

[Jen]

We finally have a blue sky break from fires and smoke. At one point this summer the entire west coast from the border of Mexico all the way to Canada was aflame. The majority of us beeks are worried that there will not be enough stores for the winter. A month ago I checker boarded my supers hoping for more drawn wax, even tho the bees weren't foraging as much as usual this smoky season.
Today, I got into my hives and to my dismay, the bees haven't touch any of the new foundations that I installed a month ago. At this point there is small flows going on every day now...finally. I don't have any more stored frames of drawn wax, the bees need to Get Going!

Even tho there is nectar coming in now, will the bees draw wax more quickly if I feed sugar syrup?

[neillsayers]

Jen,
 I am thrilled to hear your sky is back. 
 I am feeding syrup right now to try and get comb drawn for fall flow. They are getting it done but they also fill the comb as fast as they draw it. I don't plan on harvesting any so its all good. My goal at this point is to help them have the stores they need for winter.

[Bakersdozen]

Around here, we always say it takes a strong nectar flow for the bees to draw out comb.  I am worried too.  I have splits that I did they have 7 out of 10 combs empty in the second box. You can tell when the nectar flow stopped. I have been feeding them all spring and summer.
When I checked last weekend, there were still 7 out of 10 frames undrawn.  :'(
I have mixed feelings about checkerboarding.  I have never seen it work.  Maybe it has to be done at the proper time?
Jen, glad your air is cleaner now.  I heard, on the radio yesterday, that fires set by humans result in more damage to the earth's surface that anything else.  Seattle Washington has been battling the same air conditions as you.

[Jen]

I am thinking maybe bulking up with more bees in these hives. I have 4 nucs now that are full up, thinking that I could introduce an entire nuc to the hive. That would be lots more bees and hatching brood. Then feed feed feed.


But the thing I'm wondering is - What is it about feeding that makes them draw more wax? Is it like faking a flow?

[tedh]

Yes, "faking" a flow.  I like to think of it as "simulating" a flow but faking is good too!

[RAST]

 Mine (on the west coast of central Fl.) shut down comb building about a month ago. I had to stop feeding due to back filling the brood comb last week. Observation today, they are still finding pollen somewhere.

[riverbee]

jen, my own experience, you will be hard pressed to get bees to draw comb this time of year, nectar flow or not or feeding them; the bees are not going to draw much comb if any, and as rast said, may take what you are feeding them to backfill or fill drawn comb. you won't get the drawn comb you desire.

drawing comb is best done in the spring and early summer months when hives are full of young bees and nectar flows are strong.

[Lburou]

Jen, bees only draw comb when they need the space.  Sometimes you can manipulate their space by feeding, other times not. 

I've found the performance of individual hives to vary widely when feeding sugar syrup, meaning, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.  In two of the past six years, some of my hives have drawn and filled deep supers with foundation between 1 October and 1 Nov. This is a result of late rains and the right conditions for a late (local) bloom of broomweed.  Another illustration that all beekeeping is local...and made variable by weather.   HTH   

[Jen]

Great thread  I'm learning a lot.

[tecumseh]

some time ago Randy Oliver did a study on how long and how much sugar you have to feed to get foundation drawn into comb.  I think he did this in the early summer months in Northern California and from what I can recall it takes a long persistent dribble of sugar syrup to get the job done.  I think he also mentioned that there was no nectar or pollen coming into the hives at that time of year.