Do other beeks have this problem

[thebhoy]

The bees in one of my hives have a tendency to remove the wax from around the inside of the frame...sides and base so that the comb is just hanging from the top of the frame.....makes it good for them to move around from comb to comb...but not so good when trying to check them and the comb starts moving due to weight / gravity if not held upright.

They are 14 x 12's

Solution may be to wire across the frames....

Does anyone else have this problem and, if so, how did you resolve it?

 

[alynewbee]

My bees do this too (also on 14 x 12) but unfortunately, I've not got a solution. I think I read somewhere that they like doing it so that their vibrations can be passed on more easily aiding communication but I don't know if that's true. They only do it on brood frames though, not on stores which is just as well cos a 14 x 12 stuffed with honey needs all the support it can get.

 

[itma]

You'll find it to some extent in almost all hives.
// I think its in "The Buzz about Bees" that there's the suggestion that holes may help to acoustically tune the bees 'dancefloor' for better vibration communication.

Such cutaways are a vital place to look for swarm cells.

The origin of the problem is likely that the frame was not fully drawn quickly, all in one go.

Handling such frames is excellent practice for ensuring you are holding the comb vertically!
This is what topbar hive beeks do all the time!

New comb is quite floppy. Once it gets used for a few cycles of brood, the old brood cocoons reinforce the wax, making it stiffer (and darker).

You could try pegging it with a couple of cocktail sticks (should be in every beek's bits box), but that rarely does much good.
If you have another frame you are pulling out of service, you could try cutting some sections of nice comb out of it, trimming your nibbled comb to suit, and then insetting the comb from the trash frame. If you position/wedge it about right, the bees will join it together.
But the bees do rather like a few holes. Somewhere I'm sure I read someone advocating holes as a means of reducing the likelihood of isolation starvation in winter ...

Easiest thing is to learn to live with it - and get frames better drawn to start with.

 

[enrico]

So....for new beekeepers here is how to always keep the frame vertical. It is good practise as you are less likely to drop the queen off the blind side!
Lift the frame out of the hive vertically, now turn your hands as though they are on a steering wheel, dropping your left hand and raising your right hand until your right hand is over your left hand, now swing the frame ( which is on its side now) through ninety degrees, and return your hands to the side by side position. The frame is now upside down but still vertical and you are now looking at the other side! Repeat the process to get the frame the right way up for putting back in the hive! I am sure there is a YouTube somewhere! Hope I haven't bored you all!
E

 

[galileo]

Sound frame-handling advice there enrico, well worth posting it.

In all of mine, the cutaways described are only made on the central 3 (sometimes 5) brood frames. I've been told by more than one old hand, that they do it to make for better resonance when a queen does her "all's well" vibration thing. Whenever I've seen a queen doing that, she's been sat on one of the cutout frames, so that's good enough for me.

Handling frames by using the method described above, such that the face of a comb is never pointing straight down, will obviate the problem as well as ensuring that everyone below doesn't get a nectar shower.

 

[Little John]

Cutting away the wax is - in a sense - a message from the bees that frames+foundation isn't what they want to live with, even though it's being forced upon them. Drawing extra drone comb is another message, saying much the same thing.

But does anybody hear these messages ?

LJ