How to get comb drawn

[yes2matt]

Backstory: I pulled 3 or 4 frames out of the bottom of the nest of a strong colony to supplement a couple nucs I made from the swarm cells of a different colony back in March. At the time the girls were drawing comb like crazy so I just replaced them with bare frames. I thought they would draw them out and the queen would lay them up, etc.

But they didn't draw them at all and so the brood nest got congested, and open space in the middle and when I got down in there this past wkend they had a bunch of capped swarm cells. Ugh. So now I have four more nucs to supplement.  So much for my honey.

The literature all says that drawn comb is gold. How do I get some? Our main flow is ebbing now, so I have the nucs on 1:1. If I pull off the supers amd put on the top feeders will the big hives draw comb for next year? Will they draw it first then fill it or will they fill it as they go?

[GSF]

The best way to keep them drawing comb is have them think the flow is still on. Feeding will help.

[PhilK]

They seem to fill it as they go - I have a few frames of foundation being drawn out with honey being stored. Honey is being stored even though the frame isn't fully drawn out.

Bummer about your swarming! I read you should always put frames on the outside positions if you're putting them in the brood box, not in the middle of the brood nest. Any truth to this?

[iddee]

I put them outside the brood frames, but not past to pollen and honey frames. The queen will not cross the pollen frame to lay even if they draw it out.

[Richard M]

I always have a devil of a job getting comb drawn; it seems hereabouts that we can have comb or we can have honey.

Although our climate is mild, it can also be very dry (had a shocking spring-summer this year, very dry and the year before we had a cold wet spring that knocked everything back too. The only way I seem to be able to a reasonable amount of comb made is to feed huge amounts through late summer, after the honey was taken.

It's what actually attracts me to the Flow Hive, they don't waste scarce resources on making comb. It's just the $500 cost for the Flow Hive frames to fill an 8 frame super that puts me off.

[PhilK]

... they don't waste scarce resources on making comb.

Do you crush and strain? With an extractor and then giving the bees their sticky frames back they also don't need to build full combs again. Flow hives will surely be cheaper in the next few years!

[KeyLargoBees]

Flow hives will surely be cheaper in the next few years!

Yep I imagine you will see a ton of people getting rid of them as the novelty wears off ;-)

[AndrewT]

You'll see them at the garage sales next to the exercise bike and the New Wave Cooker.

[Michael Bush]

>The literature all says that drawn comb is gold.

Not true.  Gold is not perishable.  Drawn comb is.  Drawn comb should be on a hive being used not stocked up for the wax moths to eat... but yes, drawn comb is an asset.  A perishable asset...

[yes2matt]

Got it.

So the rough plan is to keep the nucs on feed thru October, let them build up as big as they want, and steal a frame of comb or capped "honey" whenever I get a nice clean one. The chest freezer will fit about 50 frames, I estimate. 

I am currently using 1:1, but I have this idea that if the bees need more surface area to process a thinner "nectar," they'll be motivated to make more surface area. So I'm considering 4:5 or maybe even 3:4. We give the hummingbirds very thin feed, I think 1:3. I wouldn't go that thin, but what do you think of 3:4?

[tjc1]

It would seem that in this scenario, the 'honey' that you will get will really be largely condensed sugar water rather than nectar...

[yes2matt]

It would seem that in this scenario, the 'honey' that you will get will really be largely condensed sugar water rather than nectar...

Yes. Not real honey. Real comb, though. I'm thinking of next Spring.  Swarm discouragement and honey production.  This Spring past, I had maybe five frames of drawn comb and one capped honey. So when buildup came I could open up the brood nest once, and then I was out. I'd like to prepare a little better this year.

Ideally I'd like to have a few frames of worker comb and two (three? ) supers of honey comb for a production hive. I'm hoping maybe to have two hives be big like that next year, but that's a lot of comb!  So maybe one. That's still a lot of comb.

That's my rookie idea anyway. I celebrate my first year anniversary next week. :)

[Michael Bush]

I would stop feeding them so the queen will have somewhere to lay so the colony can build population which will result in wax makers who can draw comb...

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfeeding.htm#when