drawing wax

[karen]

Some of the hives draw the plastic frames poorly and I am constantly scraping it off and some do a good job. If I checkerboard the plastic frames between drawn frames they just make the drawn frames very fat to fill the space. If I put the plastic all together they ignore it for the most part. I have not noticed any difference of coating it with extra wax or not. I coated some last year and left some uncoated and the bees worked it about the same.

I try to put all new frames in the brood area. What they do there is make the honey band really fat on the frame next to the new frame. My boxes have a mix of frame types, wood w/wax foundation, wood w/Pierco, and Pierco frames.

Is there a way of getting this frames drawn out correctly?

drawning_comb.jpg

[Allen Dick]

To have good success with foundation generally, the wax should be reasonably fresh.

Spacing should be as close as possible

The hive should already be drawing wax when the frames are put on

Foundation must be in a warm part of the hive, preferably near the brood, and inside the cluster space. The cluster gets much larger when the hive interior gets warmed to +60 F or higher. Any cold spell may slow or stop comb building and make bees reconsider if the new comb is too far from the brood.

A reliable way to draw foundation is to pull a partially filled super of honey from a good hive during a good flow and replace it with a full box of foundation.

Early in the season (now), one super of fresh foundation can be placed immediately above a strong single, with or without an excluder.

If an excluder is used, a frame of open brood should be raised to centre position in the second. That is not a bad idea regardless.

Move the brood frames together to close the gap or replace the brood frame with drawn brood comb, or if the hive is swarmy and waxy, a sheet of foundation.

A sheet of foundation placed between two frames of brood will usually be drawn flat. However, if it is not drawn overnight and laid in, it can divide the brood chamber and cause cell building. Judgement required...

Bees need to be slightly crowded to draw wax well. A frame of foundation provides as much room for bees as four drawn combs, so one super of foundation replaces two or three supers of drawn comb. Don't put on more boxes until you see bees on every frame in the top box.

Only provide essential ventilation -- no more -- and keep light out.

Lids should be tight.

Some hives just do not do a good job. Take the foundation away and give them back their drawn comb and work with the foundation drawing colonies. If you catch a swarm while flows are reliable, give it foundation.

[PeterP]

Good question and thank you for detail answer.
I have same issue. I received some old wax foundation frames in exchange for extra drawn frames in some nucs I sold. The bees did not like the old wax. They ignored a box full to the extent they swarmed. I kept checking and assumed they had lots of space. Space they don't like is no space at all.

I have same issue with mixture of frames types. Foundation between drawn comb gets me fatter drawn comb. Foundation next to brood gets me fat honey stores on the brood comb.

Allen do you close the upper auger holes when you draw comb? I use a small top entrance in the inner cover with the outside cover slid back.

Regards Peter

[Allen Dick]

Allen do you close the upper auger holes when you draw comb? I use a small top entrance in the inner cover with the outside cover slid back.

Good question. Frankly. I can't remember. When I open a hive, I turn my conscious mind off.

OK. I looked at pictures from last year. Nope.

It's probably a good idea, though, because the airflow and light might affect the work, especially with marginal hives or poor weather.