shallow nuc frames

[lesley245]

I am a new BK and have transferred Nuc frames into the Beehaus. As they are smaller, the bees have created new drone comb at the bottom. The advice in the Omlet book is to put cardboard below the frames - but they just ate through it and chucked it out of the bottom of the hive!

I have continued to remove the comb when I check the hive, and allowed one lot to develop so that I could do a varroa check - but I can't carry on doing this forever - for one thing - all the effort the bees put into making it and the Queen laying eggs, which are just wasted.

Any suggestions?

 

[beeboybee]

slowly replace these frames with 14 x 12 frames which should be used in a beehause, google frame extension kits to change standard brood(which you have ) to 14 x 12. did omlet sell you the bees on these frames?

 

[drstitson]

strips of wood length of bottom of frame and appropriate depth, hole drilled near each top corner and cable tied to bottom of frame. simple.

 

[Midland Beek]

You have to manipulate your colony and work these frames out of your hive over time. Getting your bees off them and onto the 'proper' frames' is a start.

 

[lesley245]

Thanks all.

No, I got the nuc from local BKeeper in the Association - not from Omlet. I will attempt the extensions as suggested.

 

[susbees]

Around 15% drones in a hive is normal. As is making comb. It's a really useful IPM method for varroa and when you have a VQ they are much more likely to get successfully mated if there is a large mass of drone pheromone at the appointed place.

 

[MuswellMetro]

decide which is warmest end of you beehaus and put your new 14x12 that end, the bees will migrate the nest towards the warm end and you migrate the old frames towards the cold end

as soon as they only contain uncapped honey ( or drones and honey) remove the old frames and feed the honey back to your bees

drone comb, leave it on,but is you must remove it only do it every three weeks, it does no harm, the bees will decide when the have too many drones and the making wax is the wasteful buiness and is the issue and it not how many unfertilised drone eggs HM lays

 

[malawi2854]

No, I got the nuc from local BKeeper in the Association - not from Omlet

I don't think it would have made a lot of difference to be honest. When I enquired about the nucs they provide, I think they were making it up as they went along - but basically, they seem to provide them on standard national frames - absolutely bonkers.


I had the same issue as you - got my beehaus, and bought a nuc locally - naturally on National frames.
It took me most of last year to work them out - but I did in the end.

I could have done it quicker - but I had no idea what I was doing (many would argue I still don't... including myself) - I got them all out in the end. And as others have said - can be useful for culling drone brood.

 

[MuswellMetro]

- but I had no idea what I was doing (many would argue I still don't... including myself) - I got them all out in the end. And as others have said - can be useful for culling drone brood.

Well that means you will make a good beekeeper, as none of us know what we are doing and it is those that think they know it all ,who are the bad beekeepers



the bees know though


approach every inspection with a plan B an alternative Plan C, and when it all goes wrong then think laterally

 

[malawi2854]

approach every inspection with a plan B an alternative Plan C, and when it all goes wrong then think laterally

You approach your inspections with a plan?

 

[Headnavigator]

You approach your inspections with a plan?

Too right - I'm a first-year beek and I do too, I list beforehand everything I want to look for and do, however simple, and will go on doing so until it becomes so routine for me that I can be confident I'm not going to forget/fail to notice anything important. Makes me feel safer and I guess it may fool the bees that I have some foggy idea of what I'm doing!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Not only do I have a written plan but I set up a reminder email that morning to look at my hive notes first. And I've got only 5 boxes

 

[mandabow]

if you want them out, quickest way is to put the national frames into two supers on top of one another above 5 of the correct sized 14 x 12 frames then a dummy board (making it a brood and a quater nuc, if that makes sence),

once the frames below are drawn and queen is laying there brush all the bees down put QX (may need to mod, theres talk of them not working) on top then wait until the last of the brood in there have hatched and remove frames. if you have only the one set of supers then it's not ideal as end up with big gap in the middle for a bit (see diag) used to work on wooden dartingtons anyway,you need to cover over the mid section 'cos of rain and wind. so drape and secure tarp over it like a tent. you can inspect through the middle gap if you don't want to disturb them much, but it's a tad fiddly and not so easy if they like to propolyse a lot

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/picture.php?albumid=243&pictureid=1527
to minimise the time it is like this you can introduce the nuc in the main body to begin with and wait for new frames of 14X12 to be drawn and be laid on first. and most fo the brood on the national frames is capped (which is hopefully kind of the sitution the OP is in)

 

[drstitson]

i suppose if one didn't want to use the above approach it would be possible to construct a tight fitting frame w/o allowance for beespace and fix part of a QE in it - that could be used along with introducing 14x12 frames at warm end/into middle of brood to allow more rapid swapping out of the normal brood frames.