Foundation less frames

[Nellie]

It's interesting to watch what they get up to. Is worth noting that they rarely join the bottom of the comb to the frame and in 14x12s you definitely don't want to holding much off vertical. It is also possible that they won't fully draw the frame, just what they want/need.

I'd very much recommend taking a pragmatic approach and to begin with, in a new brood box at least, start out with some foundation. Once they've got a few frames of comb going getting them to draw out foundationless nice and straight is much less of an issue.

 

[Nellie]

Right then,

First frame, from a 50-50 14x12 (50% foundation, 50% empty frames, yeah yeah, 11 frames in a hive, smart arse.)

I'm making no comment on the content of the frames, but I'll answer any questions that I can

For the first hive, it was a swarm the first 4-5 frames were foundation, as they were drawn out I started to move in foundationless frames between the drawn comb at the front and back of the colony. So it'd go Stores, empty frame, comb, comb comb, etc, Empty Frame, drawn comb (no stores at the back of the hive at the moment.

After one week:

Same hive, different frame that's been in there a month or so, believe this is the second generation of brood in that particular frame:

And slightly closer:

Different hive, all Foundation apart from this frame, it's been in there two weeks:

Proper blurry cam on that one I'm afraid. Busy hive of fairly grumpy bees and a glove covered in propolis while trying to take a photo doesn't really mix.

 

[Tom Bick]

Interesting Neil on my hive the bees drew out all the drone comb at the bottom of the frames in an almost straight line across the frames, looking at your 2nd photo perhaps I have a similar percentage of drone comb on each of the frames with just wire 6 in total.

My hive is full of drones as I started this in March, it seems that the bees know they have to many drones and it is clear they have stopped feeding them the hive has plenty of dead drones outside the hive, the drones in desperation are feeding themselves or it seems that’s the case heads firmly stuffed down cells, the result of this is the bb is now low on stores despite a good nectar flow and two supers on the hive.

Despite the bees seemingly realising they have to many drones or at least that’s how I see it as it looks like they refuse to feed them they still continue to raise yet more drones by the 1000’s?

One hive is not enough to make a conclusion but all the drone comb looks excessive to me and I think perhaps it may be the size of the frame? I say this as I have a standard hive on all wired frames with max 15% drone comb in the hive.

The one good thing about all the drones is that this queen is a local queen and up to recently produced lovely bees, unfortunately in the process of supersedure but with all the drones in the area it may help me in the future.

 

[drstitson]

where's the VAT man - i see jaffa cake!

 

[Nellie]

That was the first non-foundation frame to go in and they were expanding pretty rapidly at that point so they might just have decided that it was time to make start rearing some drones.

I'm not sure what they do when they have significant quantities of drone brood but the weather goes pear shaped. Perhaps it's easier to let them emerge and just chuck them out rather than go to the trouble of uncapping them and having to drag them out? I honestly just don't know.

The complete frame of drone brood I put down to two things. There's a flow on at the moment where they are and I suspect these buggers are preparing to swarm again, plus it is the only frame available for making drones on, so 1 out of 9-10 frames used for brood being given up for drones?

That colony's got a noticeable amount of DWV going on too so that'll all get cut out next inspection.

 

[fincaazul]

Interesting Neil on my hive the bees drew out all the drone comb at the bottom of the frames in an almost straight line across the frames, looking at your 2nd photo perhaps I have a similar percentage of drone comb on each of the frames with just wire 6 in total.

My hive is full of drones as I started this in March, it seems that the bees know they have to many drones and it is clear they have stopped feeding them the hive has plenty of dead drones outside the hive, the drones in desperation are feeding themselves or it seems that’s the case heads firmly stuffed down cells, the result of this is the bb is now low on stores despite a good nectar flow and two supers on the hive.

Despite the bees seemingly realising they have to many drones or at least that’s how I see it as it looks like they refuse to feed them they still continue to raise yet more drones by the 1000’s?

One hive is not enough to make a conclusion but all the drone comb looks excessive to me and I think perhaps it may be the size of the frame? I say this as I have a standard hive on all wired frames with max 15% drone comb in the hive.

The one good thing about all the drones is that this queen is a local queen and up to recently produced lovely bees, unfortunately in the process of supersedure but with all the drones in the area it may help me in the future.

Didn't know drones could feed themselves

 

[Tom Bick]

That’s how I understand it to fincaazul or at least that’s what the books say and we all know that story.

In this case the drones are desperate and starving I suspect they are driven to look for food and it is clear that they have their heads down inside the cells.