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----------------- Original message (ID=322D3567) (92 lines)
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From: "Marc Sevigny" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "bee" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Drawing Foundation
Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2000 17:30:14 -0400

I am trying to resolve a problem.  I had hives swarm
due to congestion.  There was not adequate laying space
in the brood chambers, the brood chambers had too much
nectar and honey.

(Note that I am unable to extract the deeps since my
extractor only accepts medium and shallow frames.)

So, I introduced new queens, and added a new deep
between the two existing deeps.  The lowest deep
does have some laying space.  The middle one is now
empty foundation.  The one above is quite packed with honey.

What is the best way to get the bees to draw out the foundation?

Will they draw it out of necessity since there will be limited
space to lay?  Should I feed to stimulate wax formation?

Since my hives swarmed, I'm also concerned about the
age of the bees in the hive.  There was no laying going
on for a few weeks.  The queen I introduced will start
laying immediately, but there will be few young workers.

Should I add honey supers?  Will this allow the bees to
move the honey up from the deeps?  Will an empty
super keep them from drawing out the foundation since there
is new room to store nectar?

Advice will be greatly appreciated.  I created the mess by
not monitoring them as closely as I should have.  Now I need
to figure out how to provide more laying space without
extracting the deep frames.

Thank you.

Marc Sevigny
Harvard, Massachusetts.