Brace comb

[Bakerbee]

Hi all, i opened up the tops of my hives today to replace some fondant. Very busy flyers orientating and bringing pollen in observed. When feeding fondant, on top of crown board ,i have ekes made up to the depth of a tub of fondant, to fill the empty space around the tubs i have insulation cut to size with just the shape of fondant tub cut out. Today all fondant gone that was replaced 2 weeks ago but in the empty fondant tub space all of my hives had nearly filled with brace comb. Is this because theyve run out of room inside? Should supers be added this early in the year? The weather down here has been extremely mild. Has the blip in 20 degree temps in february encouraged this? Should i just brake it off and shove more fondant in and wait till its properly warm for supers?. Thanks for advice ive not had this in past winters.

 

[applejack33]

Two of my colonies have done exactly the same. The other five are just emptying the fondant containers but not putting any comb in them. Have cleaned up the brace comb and put new fondant on. All are on Nationals, brood and half. Have not ventured into the boxes yet but may soon do so if and when the weather is right, just to be sure of the situation. All bringing in pollen and have access to eight large Camellias in full flower, and by large I mean at least six foot high and six foot square, and that's not counting anything in the rest if the village.

 

[Millet]

Three of mine that are being fed fondant in tubs are doing the same this year..i have been removing the empty tubs and cleaning the brace comb from the top bars with my hive tool and then plonking more fondant on the top bars in thick plastic bags..this is the first year i have used takeaway containers and i am not overly keen on them for the reasons above..i will be going back to grease proof paper or thick plastic bags..

 

[Ian123]

Millet i have nucs building brace comb in the bags so dont think the bag idea will stop them for a minute. Are any running out of room maybe maybe not, ive certainly been greated by bees busting out the box on first inspection but generaly find by replacing any crap frames or taking out the odd honey clogged 1 the majority are fine for a period in the space they overwintered in. For me theres also little point in adding a load of empty space they do not require as yet. The weather looks like it will turn more settled towards the end of the month and i will be into mine at the next opportunity.

 

[Millet]

I am not sure if they are running out of room or not as it is far too cold to go poking around inside the colonies..i do know that one colony in a single brood box still has three undrawn frames on the outside edges the last time i opened them up to add fondant..

 

[Popparand]

I replaced a solid crown board with a see-through replacement 10 days ago, and I'll have to turn it over soon because they are filling the space above each frame with brace comb. Loads of pollen coming in and more bees flying every day.

I haven't fed them since end November and the boxes are still heavy. I'm wondering whether with the amount of activity I should be thinking about adding a super. Seems crazy this time of year, but then the seasons are all upside down at the mmoment anyway.

 

[Millet]

Too cold for supers here,,the ground was white this morning with frost.

 

[Newbeeneil]

I found the same, brace comb in the take away containers, but found that mine were full of drone comb already laid up with eggs, so I'm thinking they maybe getting ready early this year??

 

[Bakerbee]

Thanks all for your replies. Im in no rush to inspect. They look to be doing fine. I shall remove the brace and give them more fondant.

 

[Compost Kid]

This is exactly what mine are doing in one of my hives. They're happily filling up on of the emptyish fondant bags with rows of brace comb. This is my most active hive and they've been bringing in pollen for about a month now whenever the sun shines. They seem to have plenty of stores and also plenty of fondant. I'll be keeping my eye on them!

 

[Poly Hive]

Only one nuc here has even attempted to build some comb. All the rest are neat and tidy and chomping through the fondant.

PH

 

[drex]

This is exactly what mine are doing in one of my hives. They're happily filling up on of the emptyish fondant bags with rows of brace comb. This is my most active hive and they've been bringing in pollen for about a month now whenever the sun shines. They seem to have plenty of stores and also plenty of fondant. I'll be keeping my eye on them!

Bees build comb when they need more space for brood or stores. They do not build comb just for the sake of it. You have plenty of stores, so if you removed the fondant, they would eat the stores making room for more brood. Obviously you would need to keep a closer eye on them to make sure they do not run out of food