eaten foundation

[georgia b]

hi has anyone had the same problem as me or is it just my bees?

i've got two strong hives of bees which have both been put on new foundation this year, from th**ne and kbs, and both hives have eaten the foundation, either in the middle but mainly along the bottom of the frame. this has become a big problem whilst trying to carry out an inspection because i can't flip the frames over, cause the wax with brood will fall into the brood box and leave me just with the wooden frame.

thanks
georgia

 

[Headnavigator]

Relocated the wax, rather than eaten it. They do that, as demonstrated by a fellow beek who put some coloured foundation into a hive and then watched the interesting technicolor results. As long as you used wired foundation and made up the frames properly you shouldn't need to worry about the security of the brood.

 

[Erichalfbee]

One of my lot have done that on one frame of a 14 x 1;relocated about 2 inches!
Gave me quite a shock when I took the frame out to see it wobble. I shall work it out of the box but at the moment it is full of brood.

 

[region2]

It improves ventilation and is quite normal. As to the wax falling out when you turn it over, rotate your frames vertically and the problem is minimalised, especially as the wires hold it in place!

And please, get yourselves on a course to learn the basics so you can avoid being worried by normal behaviour! I'm half way through a BBKA Basic course after a year with bees so that I can move on withmy hobby knowing what's what!

R2

 

[nematode]

I think I remember reading that on some frames the bees deliberately detach the comb from parts of the frame to prevent too much dampening of vibrations. They then use these frames as dance floors as they use the vibrations to ‘see’ the dances in the dark. It was in ‘The Buzz About Bees’ by Jürgen Tautz

 

[aberreef]

It improves ventilation and is quite normal. As to the wax falling out when you turn it over, rotate your frames vertically and the problem is minimalised, especially as the wires hold it in place!

I turn the combs from my TBH like this and not problem with breakage. No foundation, wires or wood. They are tougher than you'd imagine but need to be handled properly

 

[oliver90owner]

Often caused by giving too much foundation to draw at one time, while comb building is slow. Avoidable by limiting the amount of foundation to draw and getting foundation drawn at times of good nectar flow. Just yet simple another reason for using dummy boards for expanding nucs to full brrood boxes.

RAB

 

[MrB]

Often caused by giving too much foundation to draw at one time, while comb building is slow. Avoidable by limiting the amount of foundation to draw and getting foundation drawn at times of good nectar flow. Just yet simple another reason for using dummy boards for expanding nucs to full brrood boxes.

RAB

That's worth knowing !
Thanks

 

[mbc]

It happens quite often with stop/start nectar flows. I prefer to have my bees draw out foundation using syrup

 

[Skyhook]

hi has anyone had the same problem as me or is it just my bees?

i've got two strong hives of bees which have both been put on new foundation this year, from th**ne and kbs, and both hives have eaten the foundation, either in the middle but mainly along the bottom of the frame. this has become a big problem whilst trying to carry out an inspection because i can't flip the frames over, cause the wax with brood will fall into the brood box and leave me just with the wooden frame.

thanks
georgia

Lift frame. Raise one hand so top bar is vertical. Spin through 180 deg. with top bar still vertical. Lower hand. You now have the other side of the frame, albeit upside down. The frame has been vertical at all times and the comb is secure.

 

[susbees]

Often caused by giving too much foundation to draw at one time, while comb building is slow. Avoidable by limiting the amount of foundation to draw and getting foundation drawn at times of good nectar flow. Just yet simple another reason for using dummy boards for expanding nucs to full brrood boxes.

RAB

We had foundation strips gnawed out of a few of the apidea frames...(group project, apideas not exactly my mini-nuc of choice)

 

[Erichalfbee]

Often caused by giving too much foundation to draw at one time, while comb building is slow.

RAB

Thanks for that, colony was a swarm that went straight into a 14x 12 box