Foundationless drone comb

[L Daxon]

Once in a while I give the girls an empty frame to drawout without any wax foundation (just a few rows at the top as a guide.) Almost invariable the girls, regardless of which hive they are in, seem to draw out the foundationless frames with really big cells and if the queen lays in them, you can bet she will lay drones.  Why is this?

[Kathyp]

because they want drones and the rest of the time you are offering them foundation that is not the size they want.  you give them the chance to easily build what they want, and they do   ;)

[Johnny253]

I've noticed the same thing in a couple of my hives. I gave them some foundationless frames to fill, expecting them to regress and build smaller cells or a range of cell sizes but instead they have built entire frames of very large drone comb. What should I do with these frames?

[BeeMaster2]

If you put them in your supers they will fill them with honey.
Jim

[Joe D]

I figure they build what they want and I leave them.  After all I am new to beek and they have been doing it or their ancestors have been forever.  This is in my Langs, I also have a TBH where they build ever frame.  I look to see how the bees are doing, if they are building comb, fill it with stores and the queen is laying, and if there is any pest, SHB, moths, mites etc.  If everthing looks ok I'm happy and I figure they are also.  Good luck



Joe

[phrasmotic]

I agree with what Joe said, and would add that this is one of the neat things about going foundationless.  If they want to build drone comb, then let them build drone comb.

[Wolfer]

I do a lot of foundationless and once my bees get all the drone comb they want they stop building it.
Just because they have drone comb doesn't mean they will use it all. They will use it for food storage also.

[T Beek]

They'll not only use (and re-use) drone comb, they'll make any changes to it they deem neccessary, although I think they like filling those big cells w/ honey more than anything  ;), especially after the drones have been kicked out.

Complete foundationless beekeeping; it takes only a bit more time (a little more work for the Beek) but the bees build to the specs they want, not what humans have dictated.

t

[Finski]

.
I use to put medium foundation into langstroth frame. So bee make drones 1/3 out of frame .
Motly I use  2 this kind of frames. When zone has been capped, I cut it off.

The whole frame is too much.