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  • From: Tax Family Home <taxfamilyhome AT gmail.com>
  • To: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Help with comb under the bottom board
  • Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2017 10:34:53 -0400

Thanks to Dave and Walter for their guidance. 

We did exactly that yesterday, transplanting five combs from beneath the bottom board into frames with the foundation removed. Some photos from the process:





We're feeding to encourage the bees to draw out more comb to fill out these five frames.

We noted that there is brood on the new combs, so we may have two queens in the hive now.

Jan and Karen Tax

On Wed, Aug 30, 2017 at 4:13 PM, Walter Starks <walterstarks AT icloud.com> wrote:
When I was reading through your email I was thinking that I would recommend that you remove the foundation from the frames and insert the cut comb into it using large rubber bands. Looks like I'm too late though.😁

______

Walter


You never can tell with bees. ~ Winnie-the-Pooh

On Aug 30, 2017, at 4:01 PM, Tax Family Home <taxfamilyhome AT gmail.com> wrote:

Hello OCBA,

We are first-year beekeepers and are having an interesting time with one of our two hives. Our hard-working bees have drawn out comb below the hive, as shown in these photos. 


Here's the back story. When it got hot a month or so ago, the bees started bearding outside this hive, below the bottom board. The bearding may also have been due in part to the hive being at capacity. We added a second deep full of empty frames and started feeding to encourage them to draw out new comb. We were hoping that the bees would come back into the hive, but they remained outside the hive and drew out comb on the screened bottom board.

We would like to bring the bees and the comb they have drawn out back into the hive and are looking for suggestions on ways to do that. When I talked to David Eckert a day or so ago, he suggested pulling out some of the plastic foundation frames, cutting the new comb off the bottom board and attaching it to empty frames using rubber bands, cord, etc. That sounds like a good way to go, and we're also wondering how anyone else who has run into a situation like this has handled it.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and support.

Jan and Karen Tax


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