Wild comb -- best way to deal with it

[Norvic_chris]

Hi all -- basic error time I'm afraid. I hived a swarm 2 weeks' ago and used an empty super to help contain the cluster as I shook it into a brood box below. As it was getting dark, I left the super on top and closed up for the night. You know what's coming! I had to leave it becuase of the bad weather and not having the time etc. and now the super has 6 lovely wild combs with brood and food attached to the crown board -- the combs in the brood box below are largely empty!

What's the best way of dealing with this without doing too much damage? My thoughts were to shake off as many bees as I can into the brood box and then cut off any of the comb that has either brood or stores and wire them into empty frames then put them in the brood box and hope for the best. It just seems rather destructive and prone to disaster. Is there a cleverer way (apart from not making the mistake in the first place!) or any tips? Thank you!

 

[REDWOOD]

Put the super below the brood box, when the queen is up in the brood box and laying fit a queen excluder between the brood box and the super, when all the brood has emerged remove super.

 

[Norvic_chris]

Yes, of course! That seems so much better! Thank you for that. Presumably they will make the transition through the holes in the crown board without too much trouble -- and I'm guessing that a queen excluder straight on top of the crown board will work without a problem. Thank you, much relieved.

 

[REDWOOD]

Take the crown board off the super and place it on top of the brood box before you put the roof on. Any holes in the crown board cover with a bit of wood or glass as you don't want bees making more wild comb in the roof.
So what you will have from the bottom up is;
stand
floor
super
brood box
crown board (no holes)
roof

 

[ratcatcher]

So what you will have from the bottom up is;

stand
floor
super

queen excluder..

brood box
crown board (no holes)
roof

is that correct?

 

[Nuc]

Is the comb stuck to the underside of the crown board? If so i had a similar prob earlier on. perhaps mine were not quite so bad as they did have brood in the brood box. I made sure the q was in the bb then put a q excluder between bb and super. Then just waiting for the brood to emerge. I have had to put two further supers on but kept the super with brood at the top. Like a demaree. Nearly all hatched out now. If your prob is that they dont have much in the bb, perhaps you could unite with newspaper to another colony(but not with both Q's) or rob some combs from another colony to put in your bb. Then as above.

 

[drex]

I think what the OP is saying is that he has wild comb attached to the crown board. He could put the crown board on top of an empty super, then QE then BB full of frames/foundation. Unless he can find the queen and move her up they will just make more wild comb in the bottom box. I would cut the wild comb off and fix into empty frames with rubber bands ( much easier than wiring or tying) and install in BB and gradually add frames with foundation as they build

 

[Norvic_chris]

Yes, it's attached to the crown board, which is above an empty super (apart from the wild comb!). The issue for me is finding the queen among the wild comb to make sure she is in the brood box -- not easy when there are no frames to be moved about and I suspect she will do her very best to stay with the comb/brood rather than allow me to move her. This could be trickier than I thought (will see if I can find several strong elastic bands, just in case...). Thanks for the advice so far.

 

[REDWOOD]

The trouble is above the crown board the bees will think this is outside the hive and will probably stay in the super, a cut out is probably the best choice

 

[REDWOOD]

is that correct?

After the queen has started laying in the Brood box

 

[newportbuzz]

turn the crownboard upside down on the floor with the porter holes open. place the empty super on this then the brood box above that. that way the cluster should move up over time. keep culling comb that has just honey from the wild stuff to force them up.


alternativly remove the comb all together and feed them a little to help them make up for the lose. possibly give them a frame or two of brood from another hive to keep them ticking along after lossing all their brood and work.

 

[Norvic_chris]

Thanks All -- I like the idea, Newport, of turning it upside down. I am not keen on the idea of cutting all the comb out and putting it in frames (largely because I am one of those with a sting allergy and like to avoid upsetting too many bees at any one time!) so this suggestion seems much less confrontational (and is an interesting experiment to see if they really will move up or if they'll simply draw out the foundation above and use it as a store (hence the sound idea of slowly removing the comb, I suspect)). I feel sure, of course, that cutting out and re-framing, so keeping all the brood/stores, is the best way of preserving their hard work but needs must, as "they" say. Although of course it's now raining...