I would like to know the progress on these frames.
So far things are going well, they are slow to use them when they are brand new, even when sprayed with sugar water. Since I'm starting with all new, the hives are slow to grow, but seem health. But once they are used, they re-use them like any other frame. I have some queen breeding nuc on them that I plan to turn into regular nuc and winter them. So next Spring I should have 10 or so hives on HSC. I have had a few new queens that went right to town on them, perhaps because they knew nothing else :?
They are very expensive and seem so unnatural.
Not really, if you have ever tried to purchase fully drawn wax combs. These will last much longer, are wax moth/mice proof too.
I am surprised the bees do not mind placing stuff in cells that are not wax.
No different than perma comb, just smaller cells and bigger frames.
But I still would like to know if they work in the long run.
Can't answer that yet, but I can tell you the one cut-out that I did place on them had only about a coffee can full of bees and I saw at least 3 varroa on the bees when I did the removal. I have seen claims that 1 varroa in the Spring will equate to 300-400 varroa in the Fall, which means this hive should be a goner or close to it by now. It is going strong with no sign of varroa, in fact the picture above is from that hive.