Changing Hive Frames

[ladyrose1956]

Hi all and good morning, i would like some advice
I have at present two national hives with the normal frames in, my question is instead of having frames in the supers with the wax foundation in could i just put in the wooden frames with no wax foundation so the bees will build comb between the frames when harvesting the honey i would just cut all the honey comb away and then process it, i would leave the complete frames in the brood box or if it was possible do the same in the brood box, i think this way there would be less disturbance to the bees when removing the honey as you would only remove what you can process at any one time. I see this does work on a top bar hive but could it work on a National

 

[Winker]

you should use foundation without wire. Make life easyer

 

[Cazza]

You could but I can't see why you would want to. The bees would have to build new foundation each time which wastes their precious energy and time. Unless you just want comb honey?
Cazza

 

[m.s.]

Sure you can if you want to, but why toss out good drawn frames? comb gets stronger with age. maybe its best to check out your own experience with it. While rotation is sometimes necessary, I wouldn't destroy good comb. It slows down the progress of a hive. it can also be used in nucs, as swarm bait, splits etc.

Crush and strain and cut comb has been since beekeeping started. Foundation makes them stronger. Be careful how you handle your drawn frames, watching comb fall off isn't a whole lotta fun. One problem with with foundationless frames is getting the bees to keep the comb straight and in the frame. I'll be trying it my self shortly in a lang

Foundationless Frames: How To's -

link 1 don't let the name get to ya - link 2