Foundationless Frame

[buzzbee]

Here is a photo of one of the frames i put in with no foundation or starter strip.I'll do more next year for cut comb!

[Michael Bush]

Didn't you know, they will build comb all over the place if you don't use foundation... ;)

[buzzbee]

Michael,
Someone forgot to rell my bees!

[Robo]

Ken,

Was it a whole super of empty frames, or one just placed between two drawn frames?

[buzzbee]

This was a box of empty frames,they drew the center ones out and didn't do any more than four or five. Maybe more when we get a good flow!

[Robo]

Well you have better luck than me.  Every time I tried foundationless frames in a honey super, they have always overdrawn the frames into the adjacent frame space.

[buzzbee]

I've had better luck with comb than honey,but were learning as we go!

[Understudy]

Darn bees building nice comb like that.

No chemicals in the wax foundation means you will have healthy bees. What a concept.

Nice picture.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[Mici]

just doesn't get any whiter than that.

[annette]

This is wonderful for me to see, as I am going natural wax combs all the way. I have placed frames with starter strips here and there throughout the hive and I have been amazed at how lovely they draw out the comb.

Thanks for sharing.
Annette

[Romahawk]

Well you have better luck than me.  Every time I tried foundationless frames in a honey super, they have always overdrawn the frames into the adjacent frame space.

I tried some strips between frames of drawn comb in the brood nest and the bees drew them out perfectly but the two boxes of frames with strips I used for supers on two different hives were another story. One is not to bad as it looks like only the end frames are going to be a problem pulling. The other though is a real mess, there is one place where the darn comb is spread across several frames and its glued down to the hive body below it. Tried to pull one frame to have a look and the bottom bar pulled loose which was frustrating as it was nailed both from the bottom and also sideways. Not giving up on those two boxes though, I'll cut them all out and clean them up good and put them back on the hives next season to see if they will then follow the old cell imprints and draw them right next time. I am glad I only tried two boxes that way though.  :roll:

[Michael Bush]

>Every time I tried foundationless frames in a honey super, they have always overdrawn the frames into the adjacent frame space.

They did that so you could uncap them more easily. ;)

[Scadsobees]

They did that so you could uncap them more easily.

Sure, until you scrape it all open and get honey all over and the robbing starts when you try to remove the adjacent frame... :-P

They do make some really neat thick frames.  The problem is that they don't fit in cut comb boxes so you have to figure something else out of just extract.

They do it good sometimes.  If you put an empty frame next to a drawn comb during a flow, they will fill and extend the comb as far as they can.

It takes a lot of trial and error to figure out how to do it better.

Rick

[biglipzit]

If that was a brood frame I can just see the whole bottom edge of that comb being drones...

[Kirk-o]

Aren't Bees great they always do what they want
kirko