I had 1 plastic frame foundation in a brood box that was drawn very little.
The rest of the frames are pretty well drawn. I have plenty of brood,pollen and honey in the rest of the frames. Last week I replaced the frame (outboard) with a new wooden frame with a 1/2" wooden starter
strip. They did not touch it at all in a week. There is a small flow right now. Today I moved the frame inboard 1 slot. Besides the fact that the bees may not need the space yet and reasons why they have not touched the empty frame/wooden starter strip ? I need to install a super soon and was waiting to see it they would draw the brood wooden strip before I install a supper with 9 wood starter strips and 1 full length foundation. I am unable to get any local bees wax (1st year so I do not have any yet). I am thinking about painting bees wax on the wooden starter strips. Are store bought 100% bees wax candles really 100% beeswax or will the bees reject it worse if I melt bees wax candles to paint the wooden starter strips ?
Regards
Mike
It won't hurt anything, but there is no need to put wax on the wood starter strips. If they have a reason to build comb they will build it where they are currently building it. Figure out where that is and put it there. If they have no need to build comb, they won't build comb.
Thanks for the reply Michael.
Mike
I have tried rubing a block of wax along the edge of the wood strip to put down a thin layer of wax. I can't say I see much difference in applying the wax or not applying it.
I'm working on something new for next year. I'm making an inner with three rows of 4 holes in it. Each hole will hold a pint jar upside down. I'm then using a solar wax melter to put a small film of wax on the bottom of each jar--literally melting the wax to the jar. then I'm going to place the jars in the altered inner cover and see if I can get the bees to draw and fill honey comb in the jars.
The idea is that I'll pour filtered honey into the jars between the drawn and capped comb, freeze it for a few days to kill any wax moth eggs and then sell it. I think the jar of naturally built comb honey and the lose honey will sell better than Comb or Chunk honey. At least that's the plan for now.
like MB says above, put any frame you want drawn out inbetween drawn frames, they will draw it out...
Or L.L. Langstroth says:
"If some of the full frames are moved, and empty ones placed between them, as soon as the bees begin to build powerfully, there need be no guide combs on the empty frames, and still the work will be executed with the most beautiful regularity." --The Hive and the Honeybee by Rev. L.L. Langstroth 1853, pg. 227