Hive check : outlook grim

I'm a bit dejected tonight because of the lack of progress made by my package hive.  My mentor said I should requeen.  I have an emergency email out to see who to contact about that.  I'm going to be feeding a lot, as much as the bees will take, as fall is around the corner and there are little to no nectar sources for the bees.  I've been feeding every 4 to 5 days for the past three weeks, but I can see this is not enough.  I fed the package hive 4 lbs of sugar in a 1:1 ratio tonight.  I read that I may need to be feeding a 2:1 ratio until these bees can catch up.  I'm going to possibly need my mentor to come out and help identify what I can and should be doing.  Essentially my package hive has taken a serious nose dive.  No honey stores and very little egg laying by the Queen.  I'm afraid they are not going to make it.  And that makes me sad - and I'm going to have to admit my inexperience to my friends who are waiting for next year's cornucopia of excess honey.  If I keep it up, all my bees are going to die and there will be no excess honey.  Sigh.

The nuc hive is doing pretty well, honey stores and good laying pattern.  I am going to be feeding them also, wouldn't want to set them up to fail this winter. 

I am going to do a mite drop count starting tonight.  I am going to slide in a grid board under the screened bottom board and check it after about 24 hours to see how many mites have fallen onto it.  Obviously I won't be able to tell exactly how many mites each hive has, but I will be able to see if I need to treat.  The Dowda method is what I'm going to do if need be. 

My mentor has been a gem, she's been supportive and forthcoming with information, she cheers me on and seems to have a gift for knowing when I need her help.  There is a class coming up in a week or so, one that I"m not going to be missing - a class on Fall beehive management.  I have so much to learn.