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  • From: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
  • To: Michael Morrissey <mmorrissey AT fastmail.fm>
  • Cc: Orange Co Beekeepers <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Perpendicular comb?
  • Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2016 10:55:41 -0400

Michael,

Just cut out the comb that is wonky. If you can avoid it, cut it such that it isn't left with absolutely bare plastic -- the bees won't build on that.

Bees will use their "home space" however they choose, rotating between honey & pollen storage and brood rearing as the brood nest expands and contracts. They will move up into the upper regions of the brood chamber (e.g. your medium supers) as the  queen naturally moves up through the season. They'll do this as the honey is consumed and therefore the cells are emptied and available for broodrearing. At some point the top will be full of brood and the bottom will be empty; then the queen will migrate back down to the bottom and start the cycle over again.

Does this help?

Randall



On 7/25/2016 8:49 AM, Michael Morrissey wrote:
1469450988.194369.675958657.4DA93A53 AT webmail.messagingengine.com" type="cite">
Thanks Randall. 
That's what I needed to know. When you say cut it out, do you mean back to the bare plastic?  These are the black plastic foundations with the wax coating pre-formed when you buy them (at Bailey's). So it has a wax cell pattern, just not one they seem to like.
 
If they've filled the medium supers with honey & syrup, will they clear it when they need additional room for brood? That's the condition on 2 other hives right now. I only have brood on the deeps. 
 
--
Michael Morrissey
 
 
On Sun, Jul 24, 2016, at 11:34 PM, Randall Austin wrote:
Michael,
 
I like plastic foundation but one of the drawbacks is that the bees often build comb offset from the plastic. They are much less likely to do this during a strong honey flow, i.e. 3 months ago. All you can do is cut it out and tell the bees to try again, doing it right this time. Make sure the plastic has a decent coating of wax -- you should be able to scratch up wax with your fingernail. If it doesn't, you can melt beeswax and paint it on the plastic.
 
9 frame spacing would make the problem much worse, not better. Plus, this medium should be part of your year-round brood chamber (a single deep is too skimpy), and 9 frame spacing in a 10 frame box isn't a good idea for the brood nest.
 
Randall Austin
 
On 7/24/2016 11:07 PM, Michael Morrissey wrote:
1469416075.86735.675587193.7B68A028 AT webmail.messagingengine.com">
Hi.
 I added a medium super a month ago to a 10 frame deep that started as a nuc this year. Lots of bees and they seem happy. However much of the new comb in the super is being build between the frames, i.e. connecting them. This is my first experience with plastic foundation. Is that a contributing factor? Other causes?
 
Any recommendations on how to discourage this? Will 9 frame spacing help?
Thanks.
--
Michael Morrissey
 
 
 
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