comment/observation on starter strips

[malabarchillin]

Hello,
New guy here. I was looking at a photo of my first frame harvested. It is also a starter strip frame. I believe that Michael Bush has said many times to keep the starter strips narrow. In my photo below it looks like because of my wide starter strip I probably got less comb/honey than if I had a more narrow starter strip.
They did a great job of drawing straight comb with a starter strip !
Just posting this for others curious about beginning with starter strips. The frame in the background was using full wax foundation.

http://bp0.blogger.com/_PFDSe_fBOyc/Ry32e8aeUbI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/2XHpKJIrkz0/s1600-h/PB040003.JPG

Regards
Mike

[Brian D. Bray]

If you were to put those frames back into the hive next year the bees would most likely draw the comb out further until it was solid comb wood to wood in all directions.

[Michael Bush]

I don't see a starter strip in the space left.  Did the bees chew it up?  Did it run the length of the top bar?

[malabarchillin]

Mike,
I am not sure about your question. The bees started drawing comb at the bottom of the starter strip and did not go back up (1/2 inch ?) and reattach the comb to the top bar. If I had a narrower strip it seems that they would have drawn 1/2 inch more comb the entire length of the frame resulting in more honey. I am not talking about the fact that they did not draw the entire length of the frame, just top to bottom.
Regards
Mike

[Robo]

I don't see a starter strip in the space left.  Did the bees chew it up?  Did it run the length of the top bar?

There is a wooden starter strip there.  I had the same thought at first.

[Kirk-o]

Yes thats right wooden starter strip.Love the look of that honey
kirko

[Michael Bush]

If the flow lets up they always quit.  Otherwise if you left it and there was a flow they would have eventually filled it out, top to bottom, end to end.

[TwT]

1 question, was the starter strip and foundation installed at the same time???

[Jerrymac]

1 question, was the starter strip and foundation installed at the same time???

The starter strip is a piece of wood. There is no foundation

[TwT]

1 question, was the starter strip and foundation installed at the same time???

The starter strip is a piece of wood. There is no foundation

in the picture is 2 frames, he said one was foundation, and the other was wood starter strip, what I wanted to know was if they were installed at the same time, if they were seem like a waste of time not using foundation in both....

[rdy-b]

1 question, was the starter strip and foundation installed at the same time???

The starter strip is a piece of wood. There is no foundation

in the picture is 2 frames, he said one was foundation, and the other was wood starter strip, what I wanted to know was if they were installed at the same time, if they were seem like a waste of time not using foundation in both....

yea what he said  :-D

[Jerrymac]

OH OK I miss understood the question

[malabarchillin]

Yes the starter strip and full foundation were installed at the same time during the fall flow. I am new and wanted to try going foundation less. I am new and so far I have only harvested 2 frames. I live in East Central Florida and left the deep brood box and a full capped medium (minus 2 frames) for them for winter.
Now that I have a extractor on order I will not have to crush and strain and will be able to reuse the drawn comb and let them finish filling in the gaps.
Thanks again to everyone for sharing their knowledge and opinions.
Regards
Mike

[randydrivesabus]

so how wide is that starter strip you have there? 1/2"? it is a really good picture and the honey looks great.

[malabarchillin]

Thanks Randy.
The strip is 0.5" wide with about 0.3" exposed below the top bar.

[rantcliff]

Let me just say as another newbee that "starter strips" is a concept the the old hands understand ocmpletely but the newbees cannot picture.  I have seen some folks who put them in vertically and some who put them in horizontally.  It would really help  us newbees to see some pictures of starter strips BEFORE any drawn comb.

[malabarchillin]

Hi Rich,
In my photo the wood strip that hangs 0.3" below the top bar is a starter strip. There are a few inches towards the top of the pic that the comb has not been drawn. Imagine a wooden paint stiring stick that is
only 0.5" wide stuck up in the groove of the top frame.
Mike

[Michael Bush]

I don't have any pictures of an empty one, but I do have pictures of one that's only started:
http://www.bushfarms.com/images/PrimaryCombOnBlankStarterStrip.JPG