What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Parsonage Bees]

Added a super to all but one of my colonies. Gave biggest colony a fully drawn super last week, weight has gone up 26lbs!! Full of nectar. Did I measure that wrong?!
. . . . Ben

 

[SWHives]

Inspected both colonies today. One which has a super on, nicely drawing out the frames wirj foundation and filling with nectar drawn out frames-no queen cells. The other hive has no super on yet as was building up slowly, but had 3 charged queen cells. I am now trying to get the super frames ready for this hive too. For some of the super frames the narrow piece of wood that holds the foundation to the top of the frame is missing. Any ideas if these pieces can be bought separately, or shall I just nail the wired foundation to the top of the frame? Thanks

 

[Boston Bees]

Added a super to all but one of my colonies. Gave biggest colony a fully drawn super last week, weight has gone up 26lbs!! Full of nectar. Did I measure that wrong?!
. . . . Ben

Sounds about right

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Do you check if they are making EQC’s before taking the tab off or just take it off if the bees are not being aggressive towards her?

I seldom check to be honest but it's a sensible precaution

 

[JamezF]

For some of the super frames the narrow piece of wood that holds the foundation to the top of the frame is missing. Any ideas if these pieces can be bought separately, or shall I just nail the wired foundation to the top of the frame?

The wedge normally comes with the top bar, so I can't imagine you'd get them just on their own. Pretty much any suitably-sized bit of scrap timber would do the job though. Or ask around local beekeepers. Someone will probably have a few spares. I'd worry that just attempting to nail the foundation to the top of the frame wouldn't be sufficient to support the comb whilst it's being drawn.

James

 

[gregior]

Inspected both colonies today. One which has a super on, nicely drawing out the frames wirj foundation and filling with nectar drawn out frames-no queen cells. The other hive has no super on yet as was building up slowly, but had 3 charged queen cells. I am now trying to get the super frames ready for this hive too. For some of the super frames the narrow piece of wood that holds the foundation to the top of the frame is missing. Any ideas if these pieces can be bought separately, or shall I just nail the wired foundation to the top of the frame? Thanks

Thornes sell them but it works out expensive I would just use a cut down bottom bar if you have any.

 

[pargyle]

Inspected both colonies today. One which has a super on, nicely drawing out the frames wirj foundation and filling with nectar drawn out frames-no queen cells. The other hive has no super on yet as was building up slowly, but had 3 charged queen cells. I am now trying to get the super frames ready for this hive too. For some of the super frames the narrow piece of wood that holds the foundation to the top of the frame is missing. Any ideas if these pieces can be bought separately, or shall I just nail the wired foundation to the top of the frame? Thanks

How many do you need ? I'm foundationless so I cut the foundation strips off the top bars with my bandsaw... I use them as paint stirrers and goodness knows what else ... I have loads of them.

 

[SWHives]

How many do you need ? I'm foundationless so I cut the foundation strips off the top bars with my bandsaw... I use them as paint stirrers and goodness knows what else ... I have loads of them.
[/QUOTE
Thanks for the offer. Sent you a pm.]

 

[Newbeeneil]

Inspected both colonies today. One which has a super on, nicely drawing out the frames wirj foundation and filling with nectar drawn out frames-no queen cells. The other hive has no super on yet as was building up slowly, but had 3 charged queen cells. I am now trying to get the super frames ready for this hive too. For some of the super frames the narrow piece of wood that holds the foundation to the top of the frame is missing. Any ideas if these pieces can be bought separately, or shall I just nail the wired foundation to the top of the frame? Thanks

If these are missing or broken I normally use a bottom bar cut to size. It works equally well and I have a few left over from the odd one or two of the seconds frames that had large knots etc.

 

[SWHives]

Doesn't that first jar of your own honey taste the best honey ever ? Pretty low tech extraction but it's done the job - lovely colour in the jar and early spring honey really is special.

In my foundationless super frames I just have a triangular strip of timber underneath the top bar with the point facing downwards., I don't bother with any vertical support - it's not necessary and I suspect that skewer, vertically placed, is the reason that your comb was a bit off centre and they have gone a bit off piste.

You may find that foundationless super frames are a bit fatter than comb built on foundation but it's not a bad thing - just means that there is more honey in the frame. I'd lose the vertical support and I'd also check your spacing in the supers - are you using castellations and if so how many frames are they holding ?

You will find, once you have enough drawn frames, you can intersperse drawn frames with fresh frames and that gives them a good guide to work from and they tend to be straighter.

Hmm.. I will need to look into going foundationless. It would sort the issue with missing foundation strips...

 

[SWHives]

I've got lolly sticks under the top bar as a comb guide and, so far at least, the other foundationless frames are ok. Not perfect, but not bad enough that I've had to pull them. Already decided against the vertical supports in super frames, though I've got a fair few already built with them; I'll keep the vertical supports in 14x12 brood frames though. Current super spacing is 12 frames on rails, alternating foundation and foundationless to stop them going too wild, my plan being to maximise drawn super frames as I have no stock of drawn comb. I've got 10-slot castellations to go in the boxes but I wasn't sure if they'd make a mess with that much spacing and no drawn comb. Once I've got enough drawn comb I can hopefully go fully foundationless, alternating new frames and combs rather than new frames and foundation.

Do I understand correctly that in the foundationless super frames you only have a top bar and no vertical or bottom support? If so, are you still able to extract honey in a spinner or that is out of question with this method. Thanks.

 

[W0otz]

Do I understand correctly that in the foundationless super frames you only have a top bar and no vertical or bottom support? If so, are you still able to extract honey in a spinner or that is out of question with this method. Thanks.

Top bar with some sort of comb guide - strip of foundation/wedge/lolly sticks, and bottom bars, but no "middle" support, e.g. sticks/wires/etc. Should still be extractable but with greater care needed to stop the frames blowing out.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Do I understand correctly that in the foundationless super frames you only have a top bar and no vertical or bottom support? If so, are you still able to extract honey in a spinner or that is out of question with this method. Thanks.

I have FF frames. They are just an empty frame with no wax

 

[Boston Bees]

I have FF frames. They are just an empty frame with no wax View attachment 31512

I see wax

 

[Erichalfbee]

It’s an illusion

 

[pargyle]

Do I understand correctly that in the foundationless super frames you only have a top bar and no vertical or bottom support? If so, are you still able to extract honey in a spinner or that is out of question with this method. Thanks.

I just have a triangular strip of timber nailed to the underside of the top bar which I 'paint' with melted beeswax (my own wax of course). I leave the bottom bars in the frames - I either use the existing double bottom bars or more often, these days, replace them with a single piece bottom bar.

They extract perfectly well once they are fully drawn. The key to extracting is to start spinning slowly and increase the speeed gradually rather than winding it up to warp speed immediately. If you have a tangential extractor then spin one side gently, turn the frames spin them gently and increase the speed gradually ... then turn the frames again and spin the first side fully.

It's the weight of the honey multiplied enormously by centrifugal force that causes the frames to blow out ... I rarely have a problem even with newly drawn and filled super frames. It's less of a problem with radial extractors but, again, start slowly and build up the speed.

 

[Antipodes]

Do I understand correctly that in the foundationless super frames you only have a top bar and no vertical or bottom support? If so, are you still able to extract honey in a spinner or that is out of question with this method. Thanks.

I've made foundationless frames with a couple of strands of tightened standard thin stainless steel wire across them. The bees incorporate the wire into the wax. The wire ends up in the centre of the two sides of the comb.

 

[madasafish]

Sunny 15C but windy. Transferred an overwinter Keiler on three boxes to a National poly by cable tying frames to topbars of national frames. Surplus capped brood placed over a QE in an eke above. Very good natured hive. Transferred Q by hand - hard to find amongst all the bees

 

[JamezF]

Lovely warm day here, so I went to the out apiary to swap out some old frames for new foundation in each of the hives. Mostly it went ok. Didn't find any of the queens, but I wasn't desperately worried about that as what I was doing was time-consuming and disturbing enough as it was.

One tricky little problem to resolve, but I'll post about that separately.

James

 

[JamezF]

Hah! Forgot! One colony appeared to have a couple of charged queen cells. Couldn't see if there were eggs/larvae present though I may have to go back tomorrow and check again. Can't leave it until Saturday as I have the thrill of driving my son back to university

James