"New-Bee" with a few questions

[weldredge]

Hi there --

I am a New-bee from Massachusetts (Harvard). First timer... Been feeding sugar
syrup since installing the hive April 9th. Finally the dandelions
are blooming...the apple trees etc. I am still feeding, but will
stop when I see they no longer want it or take it. Now, the last 2
Sundays when we opened the hive, there is quite a bit of burr comb
under the feeder. Of course job 1 is to clean that up nicely--which
we did.

The frames are filling up well and we have the variety of cells that
we should (larvae, capped and honey--I could be looking at other
stuff too, but just don't know it yet!). I moved one of the outside
frames inside on this week's visit. They are only building on about
6 or 7 so far.

A few questions: Should I consider stopping the sugar syrup sooner
than when they seem to not want it any longer?

Does the presence of the burr comb mean I should put on the 2nd
brood super?

Should I leave the scraped off burr for the bees to re-purpose in
the feeding super? Will that just encourage them to make more in
the wrong place?

Finally, and I am bit embarassed to say,
The bees seem to be very insulted and not at all the zen and peace-
filled docile creatures I see in the videos/pictures or described in books/articles.
Mine do not like me much! I am keeping the fear under control and when they get
stirred up, I just walk away for a bit (in my sealed suit!). I am feeling a bit of fear and anxiety though...to be very honest.

Can NEVER imagine working bare handed~*gasp* ! Will I ever get there???

Any help is greatly appreciated -- Wendy

[kathyp]

the bees may sense your lack of "zen".  not to worry.  it gets better with time.  i used to listen to my mp3 player so the buzzing did freak me out.  a few stings and you'll realize that (for most people) it's a survivable experience.  if all else fails, a good swig of your favorite beverage helps 

you are invading their home.  try not to do that more than once a week if all looks well.

[Brian D. Bray]

If you are waiting for the bees to stop taking the syrup before you stop feeding them I would hazard a guess that you could expect either an earthquake or a tornado before then.  I got my bees on April 28th and have stopped feeding 3 of the 4, the 1 is very slow developing.

Burr comb is more a sign of the hive tendency is rather than a need to super.  Some hives love to build burr comb, others hardly build any. 

When supering use the 80% rule.  When the box is 80% full of comb, bees, and brood put on another box.  This gives a little wiggle room as far as timing goes.  Just remember that once the bees run out of room to store what they are harvesting they will turn their attention to swarming.  Also, during a heavy flow the bees can build out and store honey at the rate of a medium super per week. 

Good luck.