Bees will draw out comb under the following conditions:
1. There must be enough bees to fill the space on the foundation. If there's not enough bees they won't drawn comb, but convert intake to stores. So it is a matter of brood production. Bees will fill the space underfoot with comb. As the hive grows larger during the spring and summer the bees are given more room via supers of foundation and as the number of bees in the hive increase they draw comb.
2. There must be enough of a nectar supply to allow it whether by feeding or natural flow.
3. The mean temperature should be above 58 F on a continuing basis. If the temp drops comb building will stop temporarily.
They will not draw out comb under these conditions:
1. Not enough bees to fill (cover) the available space. No matter how many frames of foundation you have if there is not enough bees to cover the frames the bees won't build comb.
2. Lack of nectar sources, i.e. dearth or drought or pause between flows.
3. Cool or cold temperatures.
4. After a swarm or split that reduces the number of bees within the hive.
Over all considerations:
1. When you attempt to force the bees to do something weird problems crop up. Usually bad.
2. The weaker the hive (fewer bees) the slower the comb building and the more likely are invasions of SHB or Wax Moth.
3. For week hives add extra space soaringly--as they can handle it even if it's only a frame at a time.
4. Bees can be coaxed at times to draw comb by slowly enlarging their area by moving the outer most drawn comb over one space and replacing it with a frame of foundation. Do this only one frame at a time and with only the outside frame which usually is dedicated to stores rather than brood. the chance is tha the bees will abandon the frame of stores in order to draw out the other one if there's too few bees in the hive.
Topic: how to get bees ........... (Read 1580 times)