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BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: tom on June 09, 2006, 12:27:59 am

Title: Why do bees have comb on bottom board
Post by: tom on June 09, 2006, 12:27:59 am
Howdy all

  The other day i was doing my inspection and in hive two i saw some rond comb on the bottom of the hive board. I have seen this in another beekeepers hive and i would like to know why they are doing this and i saw in the third hive they are drawing out comb and storing lots of honey. They have several frames filled with capped brood and they have about three and a half frmes still to be drawn out and the same for hive two i am thinking serious about uniting they both together until the spring and then split them and have three hives again. As for the first hive i am going to take a frame of honey from the brood chamber and move it up into the top hive body and see if this will get them to start moving up the bottom is jam packed with bees and so is the top but i think they need a little help getting going.

Tom
Title: Re: Why do bees have comb on bottom board
Post by: Finsky on June 09, 2006, 12:54:09 am
Quote from: tom
Howdy all

  The other day i was doing my inspection and in hive two i saw some rond comb on the bottom of the hive board.

 I have seen this in another beekeepers hive and i would like to know why they are doing this

and i saw in the third hive they are drawing out comb and storing lots of honey.

They have several frames filled with capped brood
and they have about three and a half frmes still to be drawn out
and the same for hive two

i am thinking serious about uniting they both together until the spring and then split them and have three hives again.

As for the first hive i am going to take a frame of honey from the brood chamber and move it up into the top hive body and see if this will get them to start moving up
 the bottom is jam packed with bees and so is the top but
i think they need a little help getting going.

Tom


You have so much story that it is difficult to see what is going on. Backgroud is still unclear what to say

You have two hives which are too small to build all foundations. They are able to build when more bees emerge.

One hive had 2 box full of bees?

You may help small ones when you take from biggest hive a frame of emerging bees. Shake all bees into hive and give the brood frame where they ar coming out.

One full brood frame gives 3 frames bees and so you get whole box full. Keep brood frames together and do not arrange empty frames inside brood area. - Look what happens during one week.

2-box hive is not very big. If it is crowdy give  to it third box. If you take at once 2 frames emerging bees it will disturb too much the development of your best hive.

I have done even this that when small hive has any more room for egg laying I give ne capped brood frame to bigg hive and arrange room to queen.

But the goal is to get small  hives whole box filled with bees. After that hives is able to normal build upp.  It takes time because brood cycle is 3 weeks.

When small hives a full of bees from wall to wall, you may give second box but give it under the brood box. Bees occupy that box when they need more space. So it happens in nature. Colony enlarges downwards.
Title: Why do bees have comb on bottom board
Post by: Brian D. Bray on June 09, 2006, 03:12:10 am
Most newbees get impatient for their hives to develop--seeming to expect tons of bees and honey right away.  Developing a package of bees from package to four medium boxes in one season from foundation is doing well.  Bees woun't draw out comb when they don;t have enough young to warrent it.  By the same token over feeding the bees so they fill up the available comb with syrup slows down the development of the hive--over feeding should be avoided as it can actually cause a hive to regress instead of progress.
Title: Thanks for the advice
Post by: tom on June 09, 2006, 09:27:17 am
Thank you

   I apologize for all the information i will try to do better i have had bees before and things have changed so much from when i last had them. I have two smalll hives and they are working well i am trying to build them up before the fall so they will be able to make it thru the winter. Noww hive two is building up and so is the third one  both have good brood patterns and storing plenty of honey. As for the first hive i have notice they are starting to move up in the top section and building comb so i guess they are going to be ok but i will follow the advice that i am given all of my beekeeping freinds are no longer living or has stopped and have forgotten what they know so i guess i am looking to you all as my guides to help me out and i do thank you all.

Tom
Title: Why do bees have comb on bottom board
Post by: Finsky on June 09, 2006, 10:22:09 am
You have no problem with winter. They will be big hives in autumn.

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