Frames and Foundation: Part 3 : 21 GETTING THE BEES TO DRAW OUT COMB Foundation: Part 3 Frames and Jenny and Wally Shaw I


n this final article, we have reached the point where our frames are correctly assembled with the foundation in place. Ideally the foundation should be installed at the last minute so it is still fresh, sweet-smelling and attractive to the bees. Comb will be drawn on old, dried-out foundation if a colony is in dire need and there is a good nectar flow but the quality of comb may be compromised. A swarm will draw almost anything but, again, not necessarily to the standard that the beekeeper would like. This is the stage in the process of getting combs drawn where the co-operation of the bees is required. If there is to be a successful outcome, the beekeeper needs to understand comb drawing from the bees’ perspective.


Measurements


For historical reasons, UK beekeeping equipment is made according to Imperial measurements. In this article we are going to discuss the dimensions of combs, their spacing and even cell sizes, and these are most easily expressed in metric units (millimetres or mm) rather than inches and fractions of an inch (which can


April 2015 Vol 97 No 4


be very confusing). So, if you still tend to think in Imperial, the table gives a few conversions to help you visualise things. Despite what some beekeepers think, strict adherence to accuracy in the construction and use of beekeeping equipment is not being pernickety (or a sign of OCD!). A difference of one millimetre (1 mm) may seem insignificant to us humans but it is a lot to a bee – 1 mm is equivalent to over 12 inches or 300–400 mm in bee terms. Bee space is important, so why make beekeeping more difficult than it ought to be for both the bees and the beekeeper.


Doing What Comes Naturally


When a swarm of bees takes up occupancy of a nest cavity, the first task is to build a set of combs. No matter where they build, the spacing of the combs is always very regular at


30–32 mm between centres. Only combs at the outside of the nest may have slightly wider spacing, but these are used almost exclusively for honey storage or drone brood. Depending on the shape of the cavity, the combs they build are rarely flat and are often curved in graceful arcs. They may also be joined in places and braced to the cavity wall (see Figure 1). This bracing gives structural integrity so that the combs can bear the weight of a full load of honey – even in hot weather. The combs in a natural nest are multi-purpose and brood is raised almost anywhere in amongst the honey.


Why is natural comb spacing 30–32 mm? Measurement of cells that have been prepared for the queen to lay in shows that they are always 11–12 mm deep. More detailed measurements reveal that it is not uniform depth that the


Figure 1. Natural comb built in a roof space


Inches ¼


3/8 ½


1


1¼ 13/8


17/16 1½


17/8 2


Millimetres 6.5


9.5


12.5 25


31 35


36.5 38


47.5 51


Bee space is ¼–3/8” or 6.5–9.5 mm


bees are targeting but a width/ depth ratio of just over 1:2, so cells with a smaller diameter are slightly shallower and larger cells are deeper. Why this particular ratio? The only time the cell is fully occupied is in the later stages of brood development and these are the proportions that exactly fit the occupant – the pupa of the pre-emergent bee. Smaller diameter cells produce smaller bees; hence it is the width:depth ratio not the absolute depth that is important.


Room for the Workers


Taking these calculations a stage further and assuming an average cell depth of 11.5 mm, the comb width (where both sides are prepared for brood


www.bee-craft.com


Photos by Wally Shaw


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48