Worker or drone foundation in the supers?

[peterbees]

Do you use worker foundation in the supers?
Do you use drone foundation in the supers?

 

[Anduril]

I've tried drone foundation, but didn't like the results and reverted back to worker.

 

[peterbees]

I've tried drone foundation, but didn't like the results and reverted back to worker.

What were the results?

 

[Anduril]

The cells didn't look uniform and there was more uncapped honey than in the worker cell frames. I prefer the look of the worker cells.

 

[Finman]

.
One result is that bees are not willing to fill drone cells with honey.

The most important is, that you cannot use those combs as brood combs.

The hell is loosen when a Queen starts to lay them.
.

The first thing. What is the advantage? Beekeepers would surely use that if it is good idea.

 

[peterbees]

.
One result is that bees are not willing to fill drone cells with honey.

The most important is, that you cannot use those combs as brood combs.

The hell is loosen when a Queen starts to lay them.
.

The first thing. What is the advantage? Beekeepers would surely use that if it is good idea.

Thanks.

 

[Teemore]

.
One result is that bees are not willing to fill drone cells with honey.

The most important is, that you cannot use those combs as brood combs.

The hell is loosen when a Queen starts to lay them.
.

The first thing. What is the advantage? Beekeepers would surely use that if it is good idea.

I'll disagree with one element of Finmans reply. From my experience, bees are happy to fill drone cells with honey. The rest of his reply I agree with.

 

[REDWOOD]

More options with worker cells

 

[Millet]

I have only used worker cells and the bees still drawn drone cells on the worker cells when they need too.

 

[Finman]

I have only used worker cells and the bees still drawn drone cells on the worker cells when they need too.

Leave to bees a gap, where they can do drone comb. Then they do not make cells here and there.

I put medium foundation into 2 langstroth frames. Then I cut them off to catch mites.

 

[Beefriendly]

The bees I use do not like filling drone cells with nectar/honey, you get everything filled and capped except drone cells. My job this winter is to cut out every frame in my supers that has drone cells built in it and try to get everything back to worker cells.
This is typically what it looks like. If you look carefully you can see most of the drone cells have non or little nectar in them. And the second picture shows you what they do when there is a large area of drone cells...this was a frame they drew from a strip...I now think it's a false economy to draw super frames from strips.

 

[Millet]

Leave to bees a gap, where they can do drone comb. Then they do not make cells here and there.

I put medium foundation into 2 langstroth frames. Then I cut them off to catch mites.

I kill the mites so i do not have to mess about catching them, i much prefare catching other things that are mostly edible..

 

[Finman]

I kill the mites so i do not have to mess about catching them, i much prefare catching other things that are mostly edible..

Yeah. You may use drone combs in tuna fish catching.
.

 

[oliver90owner]

Drone comb is OK until queenie gets upstairs, by some means. I used to use some drone comb but it has been replaced by worker foundation for several years. Non-use of queen excluders limited the opportuities of using it, among other things.

 

[polomadh]

I experience and see the same as beefriendly. I had a hive that were determined to raise drones, and make drone cells in the worker foundation in a couple of frames in the supers, which they were very reluctant to fill, and even more reluctant to cap, which is a pain. I wouldn't put drone foundation in the super out of choice.

 

[TooBee...]

If I use 4.9mm small cell foundation in my Brood, can I get away with using a foundation with a larger cell size of 5.4mm in the Super?

If you use 4.9mm for worker cells in the Brood, it stands to reason that the Drone cells for these smaller bees will also be smaller, the difference between 5.4mm and 4.9mm is 9.25%. If you reduce the size of a standard Drone cell of 6.125mm by 9.25% you get 5.56mm, which is getting close to the 5.4mm size, so I'm just wondering if you would get the same problems as other have had when they place Drone sized foundation in Supers?

 

[peterbees]

Do you use worker foundation in the supers?
Do you use drone foundation in the supers?

Thanks to everybody who contributed to this poll.
I posed the question because I've recently purchased six hives of bees from a retiring member of Conwy Beekeepers. Inspected soon after and in good health. Some supers were fitted with drone comb, which I have never used. Good to hear of others' experiences.

 

[polomadh]

It's not impossible to think that they were using the drone comb in the super to raise drones, by putting it below the super, rather than for honey.

Or they have made a mistake in ordering and not realised.

 

[peterbees]

It's not impossible to think that they were using the drone comb in the super to raise drones, by putting it below the super, rather than for honey.

Or they have made a mistake in ordering and not realised.

The drone combs had not been laid in. I'm running the colonies on brood and a half now. (They were just on a single brood box) and I've put one of the drawn drone combs in each half box.