Weak overwintered Nuc - what to do.

[BrianO]

Hi

In a poorly lit ( no sun all day ) apiary have a Poly nuc over wintered , 2013 queen clipped , checked y,day, small amount of brood that in total would probably fill 3/4 of one side of a brood frame.

Treated during winter, fed fondant and recently Apinvert, ( still some there ), not doing well, thought they might kick on with the spring but no.

Wondering what to do, could move to another Apiary I have where they would get sun , would that make a small difference I expect so, any other ideas. Could requees i suppose and put old monarch in an Apidea ?

Opened hive as said y. day and had to take 3 slugs out, overall looked weak, only laying on two frames and some sides completely empty of stores, brood, pollen, anything .

Thanks

 

[Dishmop]

Put them in the sun..

 

[Obee1]

My bee inspector told me they require a minimum of one hour sun per day. Move em and feed em.

 

[user 6228]

Add sun, insulation and more bees.

 

[BrianO]

Thanks Guy's

Will do that, so could add a frame of brood from a stronger hive, that is the way to go ?? Yeah ?

 

[oliver90owner]

Think before you do anything. Bees deep in a cavity get no direct sunshine.

Ask yourself why they are so weak. Any other colonies on that site? If there are and they are OK, it's not the site! Do try to site your bees appropriately, plenty of suggestions in all the good bee books.

Disease, pests, too weak to support brood or an aged queen? Not too difficult to sort out which of those, I would have thought. Then act accordingly.

 

[jeff4051]

Had same problem but hive had sun, added some spare brood from other hive kick started queen to start laying. Hive still slow but improving

 

[maddydog]

Had an all but failed colony earlier this year. A q that was laying strongly but simply not enough bees to support them. I transferred them to a polynuc and added two frames of bees and emerging brood. Now they are going like a train, so it is possible to resurrect a poor colony.
Whether it is the 'right' thing to do is another matter. I lost the only other colony at this apiary over the winter. No apparent reason why - 1 acre wild meadow, sheltered but some sun, strong going into winter with decent amount of stores etc. Fortunately I keep bees for knowledge/interest and not necessarily honey crop so I can afford to experiment with this apiary.

 

[PaulCarroll]

I had a similar colony went Q - for no apparent reason leaving plenty of winter stores untouched but a rapidly dying colony. The hive was positioned in a part of the garden where sun was limited and for some reason it seemed colder than anywhere else in the garden. I have moved the hive, and am trying to rescue it by placing some frames of brood from a strong colony into the newly positioned hive. Things are looking good with Queen Cells apparent and a new Queen shortly to be hatched. Whilst all this takes time and ultimately impacts on honey crop, the lessons you learn from thinking through problems and seeking solutions demonstrates why this hobby is so unpredictably intriguing!!