I need a new set of engineers!

[asprince]

I have several swarms that I have started on bare foundation. Some are hell bent on drawing crazy comb!
Why? They will draw some frames correctly and then go crazy on others. I just scrape it off and tell them to start over. What else can I do?

Steve

[Kathyp]

you'll probably get a million answers, but here is what i found:  if they are really messy and i try to correct them as they go, it does not work.  i have found that it works better for me to let them draw out the frames and then cut them apart.  sometimes i will even work really bad frames to the outside and remove them completely.  i save those for later swarms by cutting off all but the very top  of the comb making a kind of starter strip.
on hives that are just messing up one or two frames, or drawing uneven comb, you can often straighten that out.  sometimes by cutting out the bad part. more often, by moving that comb and putting some well draw comb in it's place.

i do think that perfect comb is a bit over-rated in the brood box.  other than the fact that it makes inspections difficult, it's really not the end of the word.

i no longer put swarms in a completely foundationless, or all starter strip hive.  i put a couple of full sheet in the middle or drawn comb if i have it.

[Michael Bush]

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfaqs.htm#messedupcomb
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfaqs.htm#framespacing