In a message dated 7/12/99 7:31:21 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

> All the hives are
>  vigorous but 2 are not drawing much comb in the 2nd hive body, am
>  considering combining them if there is not significant improvement within
>  another week.  It is interesting that these 2 hives plus a third have more
>  bees 'on the doorstep' than the other hives, however there is brood and
>  eggs so it is not a lack of a queen.

    I've noticed that, in hot weather, the rattiest hives often have the most
active bees, which I attribute to ventilation (some of us who don't have an
outside job to support our beekeeping, have well ventilated supers).  Try
setting the top super a little back so they have a 3/4 inch crack to
ventilate from.

    When the flow is over and cooler weather returns, put them back on
tightly, if you don't remove the supers, or they can be vulnerable to
robbing. (I have to make sure not to have these "well ventilated" supers on
during robbing periods, or risk hives being robbed out.)

[log in to unmask]     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
The Pollination Scene:  http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
The Pollination Home Page:    http://www.pollinator.com

Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop    (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles)
http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm