TNX for the solar wax melter info, and I also just put on a 2nd hive body
on top.  I will continue to
feed them sugar syrup. Walt from pondsite@barnwellsc
 
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> From: Richard E Leber <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Adding Second Box
> Date: Sunday, May 18, 1997 2:36 PM
>
> Hi ya'll and Bob,
>
> If you wait until you KNOW those bees need another hive body or super you
> are too late.
>
> With a new colony on foundation I feed heavy to help insure my
> investment.  Starting with a division board feeder until all but two
> frames are drawn then replacing the internal feeder with more foundation
> I switch to an entrance feeder until ready to add another box.  Here
> along the Gulf Coast I use a single deep hive body for brood rearing so
> the first addition above the deep brood box is a honey super.  Hives here
> with double brood boxes don't produce a large surplus crop for me.
>
> If you are setting up for two story hives I would suggest adding the
> additional box now and continue to feed until the second story is well on
> the way to being drawn and filled with stores and brood.  As long as
> there is a strong nectar flow or supplemental feeding the bees will
> probably not chew up the foundation to use the wax else where for comb
> construction.
>
> Don't cut your bees short on the feed.  A $2 five pound bag of sugar
> mixed with a half gallon or a little less of water will yield about a
> gallon of feed syrup which is cheap compared to the stress on that $40
> package when they have to bring in all the required raw materials.
> Estimates vary, but about 6-7 pounds of honey are required to yield a
> pound of wax.
>
> Best of Luck,
>
> Rick Leber, Beekeeping since 1987
> Mobile, Alabama