Using Homemade Wax Foundation Sheets And Starter Strips (In Rose Bee Hives)
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- Опубликовано: 7 июл 2015
- Finally another beekeeping video. I apologise for the delay. Many people ask for them and I have lots more things I’d like to say about bees and beekeeping - but as you can maybe see from this one, they’re not that easy to make. Apart from bees climbing all over everything, wearing a veil makes it nearly impossible to see the little screen on our camera so I often spend five minutes filming the tree next to the hive, or my knee or whatever.
The other reason is that when I’m with the bees I sort of lose track of time and focus completely on what I’m doing in the hive. The bees are powerfully hypnotic. Really. Often I’ve forgotten that I was supposed to be filming until the little ‘battery flat’ noise on the camera reminds me.
But I managed this one - and I hope you find it interesting. For those who don’t know already, I use a different type of hive from most - the Rose Hive - which doesn’t use queen excluders. That means the queen can go where she likes and the bees can arrange their broodnest and stores as they choose in the hive. It makes sense to me that honeybees should be allowed to do what they like - after all, they surely know best how to be bees than any human could. In that spirit, I let them make whatever comb they want to too - except I do use full sheets of foundation in every second frame so they don’t stick combs together.
There are a few more videos on this channel and on the Rose Hives website about my sort of beekeeping, if you’re interested. (www.rosebeehives.com) (And check out ‘The Rose Hive Method book too.) And of course, feel free to share and subscribe and comment if you like.
Bees and beekeeping are my main thing - they have taught me so much about how the world works and I recommend anyone who hasn’t experienced them close up to take a gentle stroll down that fascinating path.
Here’s the link to the video on making your own sheets of foundation
• How To Make Thin Sheet...
TAGS- homemade foundation, sheets, wax, beeswax, beekeeping, bees, honeybees, how to make, use, starter strips, frames, hives, Rose bee hives, self-sufficiency, organic, smallholding, homesteading, permaculture, sustainability, blog, way out west, DIY, rural, farming, country, vlog, small scale, hands on, west, cork, Ireland, Irish, small farm, apiculture, wax press, foundation press, wired, unwired, make your own, comb, drones, drone comb, worker comb, honeycomb, natural, using, natural comb
It is good to see drone brood, this way a virgin queen can mate if needed.
For my brood box, I let the bees draw their own comb as they like and they do it way faster than they would with an foundation. They will draw 60% of an empty frame in 2 days when a starter strip is used or you leave 1/2 an inch of old wax comb on the frame when you strip the old wax comb off.
Glad someone said it. Great video. I'll be checking out your channel. I did starter strips and natural comb in my langstroth hives on deeps and mediums last season and learned a lot. At first, economics and time prevented me from having the foundation in time, but then being forced to do this, I found I should do it this way. Let bees be bees.
+Scott Benack Well, exactly!
I used the rose hive method this summer for my first ever hive in Alaska. I got a gallon of honey. Better than most beginners did in this horribly rainy summer we had.
I find myself being drawn willingly into the rabbit hole as I listen to your entrancing voice describing things I see almost every day in my wild-caught beehives. Such wonder and delight!
Love the way you give the girls the freedom to choose what they what to raise and your words “they know what they want better t than us” love it 😍
That is very interesting concerning the drone bee population in the hives which were allowed to draw their own comb. I believe you are right these little creatures know what they need more than a man. God put perfect instincts in them for life.
Another wonderful video! I always feel like I'm being read a story! I learn lots and fell very comforted by the end. Thank you x
MotherGoose Aw, thanks Mother Goose!
I think I have watched this video at least 20 times thus far, and I enjoy each session
I've been studying treating urticaria at home and found a great resource at Karas Hives Remedy (google it if you are interested)
Me too
drone bees are criminally underrated
These 2 videos are really good. Thank you so much. I was looking for a simpler way to make my wax foundation without it being brittle. A simple rolling pin. And knowing that they will accept it just fine without the print is priceless. Everything is read said not to bother if it wasn't printed.
Tim and Sandra I follow your other channels and have your books. I do so miss your beekeeping videos. They’re so peaceful and respectful of the natural way I too keep bees.
Beekeeping looks so much fun, very interesting! Thanks for sharing
How fascinating! I plan to keep bees eventually, and I do appreciate learning so much from your experience.
This video makes me warm and happy on so many wholesome levels.
Completely fascinating process. A well made video as usual. Thanks !
Thank you for all of your videos, as I enjoy them. This one answered questions that I have been wondering about!! Very educational and well explained!! Thank you for posting! I also enjoy your horse videos, I have been a rider all of my life!! God Bless You!
Bee framing is useful to help pollinate the flowers of the commercial crops so that the crops can be fruitful and yield more to increase production.
enjoyed your approach to bee keeping, I am just learning, thank you so much
Another great video, I really like the way you highlighted the difference in comb style and size, very interesting!
Tony Watson Thanks Tony - yes it's all very interesting, alright!
Amazing! Just rolling the wax increases it's flexibility!
I have just started a hive and really interesting to see the mixture of cell sizes :) could u do more on your bees please 🐝
Tim your bee videos are so amazing! The perfect little cells they make. I have learned so much. No wonder you love beekeeping so much! Nature is truly amazing, every plant, insect and animal know what to do as soon as is necessary. How cool is that?
Bees are the best, Sharon!
Love the way you do the foundations
Thank you for the video...looking for cheap Laymen's foundations in the United States is impossible. I want to make my own without the cost of buying rollers. The flat sheets look doable.
For a long time I was going to build a top bar hive, but you know what with the garden and the chickens and god knows what else.......one day. I loved this video, keep it up.
Hello from Turkey.. I love Irish people. You are best impressive beekeeper.. I just warn you about wax.. Government proses says wax 11 hour boil 110 degree but it's 'not cheap.. cheap and effective way progress for bee wax boil 15 minute 120 degres.you can use deep fryer it easily fit 120 degres. Lots of illness comes wax.
Brilliant idea. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks mate! Very useful info, I am trying to remember how we did it when I was growing up ☆☆☆☆☆
Excellent video, thank you.
Cheers mate, great info and and a great attitude. Yes, bees just like all of nature, are our best teachers. We have so much to learn as a species that we should bow down to all of nature. I mean, rice, is now known to be more evolved than humans are.
Greetings from Arkansas USA.
Ireland looks so green and fresh.
Thank you for the interesting bee keeping information! Well done!
That's exciting to watch the bees at work.
Absolutely fascinating, that's a view of a bee hive I will never see myself being severely allergic to their sting.
Thanks for the insight :)
+inspirality Thank you - yes, they really are completely fascinating : - )
Absolutely loved this video. Thank you :)
I love these beek videos. Just common sense, everyday good fun with the bees.
Hello sir; I am in awe of you. Thanks so much.
loved ur video. like ur style of commentary.
Thank you..شكرا
would Bee camera operators? I have just found your videos & I must say I am really enjoying them, & your voice is easy to listen to & your respect for the Bees really comes through, I would love to get involved in Bee keeping , alas its not to be, not yet anyway..
Thank you so much for these videos. Very useful and informative
Awesome job the bees do , another awesome video, regards from Australia. 👍
I see you bees want their moment of fame! Just saw your video Thanks
Another good video, mate. A lot of people don't like drone comb, but it doesn't bother me. I also don't use queen excluders to keep the queen out of the honey supers as I don't care where the queen lays eggs, just so long as she's laying.
+Pop's Shack Exactly.
There's some dummy on the tube somewhere that's telling people to slaughter their drones when the hive overproduces them. This guy makes such a great point in that, we have NO IDEA why they're doing that, I see it in ours often and we just let them bee. Strangely, I've often wondered if the bees aren't smart enough to make it a "Community" effort? We have years when even our strongest hives hardly make any, and vicaversa, and it'll switch around the next year? It's almost as though they're trading off who's job it is to supply the bee yard drones? Also, when we switched to screen bottoms, we also through out the queen separators. The complaint is, "brood in the honey" - however, if they'd give the queen her due, they'd find out, she only does that in the earlier-cooler parts of the season, and by the time we rob them of their precious commodity, it's much hotter and she's moved them all down below. Besides, we also showed to ourselves, the separators severely hinder honey production, not to mention the hundreds that die, stuck in them, which no one ever mentions.
I don't understand the genetic diversity comment. Drones are pure clones of the queen so what diversity?
well, the more drones an hive produce the more chance is for a random queen nearby to have a lot of chance to get mated properly. Genetic diversity relates to the entire area where the bees live, not to the single hive.
It is quite simple the hive is an organism why do organisms try and mate with more individuals? To spread their genetics. The drones are a vehicle for a hive to spread their genetics, your right the diversity comment isn't quite right but the desire of any organism is to try and spread their genetics into the next generation even if they are unsuccessful hence the amount of drone comb. The more hives producing drones and unmated queens the greater the diversity that can be achieved.
I Love love love this video! Well done - you are so good to listen to about I am so pleased that I finally managed to find the info I needed! Wow! Fantastic! Yay etc!! (I would love to have some hives but allergy keeps me away from it but I do think beeswax is the most amazing thing in the world and I love it for all its many uses!!
+Eloise Withers-Kilburn Aw, thanks Eloise, you're very kind : - )
MUchas Gracias. Hace un tiempo tuve esta idea y la consulte con apicultores que tienen más experiencia que yo y me desanimaron al respecto. Pero al ver que usted la desarrollo exitosamente me animo a hacerlo y si...funciona y muy bien. Gracias
Well there you go. There's more than one type of comb bees make. I didn't know that up until now. Thanks.
I really like your commentary.
Thanks for your experiments, like ...
That was great!! Loved the video. I subscribed, not just because of the information, but also because you remind me of Mr. Bean in the voice... Its a compliment! Lol Keep up the good work.
excellent video. your style is very entertaining & informative, your logic is impecable; of course the bees know best. i enjoyed seeing "the girls" handy work .
greetings from the deserts of west texas.
+GEODEAHOLIC M Thank you. You must live a very different life from us mud-dwellers. Humans and bees are so adaptable, aren't we?
yup, i'd like to try bee keeping, but i live in an apartment, so it isn't practical.
Absolutely a great video
Keep up the great Videos
Wonderful stuff
Thank You...Great video.
That is truely fascinating.
I wonder if the overuse of the full foundation frames is part of what is adding to the hive collapse epidemic... not enough diversity because fewer drones. just a thought. Thanks for your great vids!
This is great, but it took some searching to find it after watching how you make the sheets. If you could make a playlist of all your beekeeping vids, that'd be really helpful.
We do have a playlist called Bees and Beekeeping, Teal. Have a look under 'Playlists'
Way Out West Blow-in blog thank you, I don't know how I didn't see that the first time - must have had a brain blank. You have a lovely channel, and I hope you don't let the small number of ignoramuses and trolls in your comments get to you - you're doing great things!
I'm curious what exactly is the difference between the "Rose Hive" and the common hives used around here? I bought my boxes from a local manufacturer, pre-assembled, wax dipped and painted while hot, since I don't have the facilities for the wax dipping here.
@@tealkerberus748 You're luckey to have those available to you. Here in Ireland the standard hives have two different size boxes - The Rose hive uses a medium size box throughout.
Drill a hole or holes in the top bar preferably the size of a bamboo Barbecue sqewer and push them to the bottom of the frame and this will support the comb
Hi ,thank you for answer! It is no problem for me to use the wire the same way as for the matrix foundation. Has the thikness of flat sheets any infuence on how fast the bees build ? Whatś your opinion ?
A++ as always ;)
That is absolutely fascinating - thanks so much! (Beth)
Ben Matthews Thanks Beth!
Love , thanks...could you address, don't laugh, to a Problem I made. I lacked 2 frames last time went in hive. I anticipate a partial mess when I feed soon where I left open space. I love seeing free form comb but know it will cause problem later for me. Thank you so much... Love what you have made for us. Blessings
We've all done it! No way round cutting out the new comb and putting in frames - all you do is try to choose the best time for that. Now, perhaps? when the cluster is small and somewhere else?
Way Out West Blow-in blog thank you so much. I will need to feed soon, so will plan to do then. Thanks for tip using strips alternating. I have wanted to use them but so many poo using them I have felt insecure doing it.
Simply fascinating! Happy to have found your videos....as they are both educational and witty. You shoo'ing the bees away with the grass had me chuckling! 🐝
Something I'd love to do at some stage. I can still remember my Gran (a tough old bird if ever there was one) coming in picking out bee stings (and laughing about it).
I'd be interested in your view of the newfangled Aussie invented Flow Hive - which certainly appears to be clever... but perhaps with some freestyle frames thrown in just to allow the bees to have some control on drones, brood etc.
Malcolm Scott the flow hive opens up the back of the cells - if the cells had brood in them they'd just die, so you need an excluder to keep the queen away from those combs. There are so many other problems with that design I'd keep well away from it myself
Yes I realise the brood would have to be separate (I think the cells basically split in the middle and the bees just cap the ends - but don't a lot of conventional apiarists use an excluder anyway?
I guess by the time I'm ready the other problems will be more than apparent ... and in any event, I rather like the idea of building the whole hive from scratch ... a bit like I've discovered I like building houses and other bits and pieces rather late in life!
I totally agree on both accounts! It's hard to film/take pictures while in a hive and the bees know far better than I on how they should run the colony. I run mostly top bar hives that we built with a triangle wedge on the bars that they build their own comb down from it works pretty well with keeping the comb straight but not a 100%. My uncle which has been bee keeping for 50+ years uses the Langstroths without foundations, which they build cross comb in a lot, he doesn't seem to mind it though. My great grandfather kept bees in hollowed logs and smoked they out and re-caught them when they harvested or just killed them out right. In ways beekeeping has come far, and in some ways too far.
+DixieGirl9876 Even when I first came here in 1990 you could buy sulphur in the hardware shops for killing the bees in tea-chest hives before taking all the honey. So, yes, we've come a long way - sometimes even in the right direction : - )
I wonder if that was pure stupidity, or, in addition to stupidty, because there were at one time, so many bee hives everywhere and, like buffalo in the midwestern US, they just arrogantly slaughtered them . . . because they could? 1990 though? I guess I always figured when it came to bees, people were cautious and careful to protect them so they could repeatedly collect the gold?
Most people do not care about bees nor where their food is coming from, that is why they use poison to kill them.
thank you for the wonderful video, it is very helpful :) How do you treat your bees against varroa mites?:)
Thanks. Oxalic acid mostly - or thymol in the summer
I'm so glad you posted this! I have been wondering how plain sheets of wax would go. Them, I can make. I have a big block of wax from my early bee-having attempt. New sheets of foundation are expensive to buy.
It is still officially the middle of winter here, but my bees are working hard gathering saddlebags of multi-coloured pollen already, on every sunny day, which is almost every day this year! Nice to have a sunny dryish winter, but it bodes bad for the later season. Big drought coming I think.
Ruby Gray Ah, but no one knows for sure how the weather will be. Anything could happen! Good luck with the wax sheets - I always feel it's a great privilege to be a part of the bees' lives, and your season's just about to get going. Lucky you!
thanks from Australia
Rose Herbs and Honey you're welcome : - )
If you put just a plain sheet of wax instead of a wax foundation, do the bees treat it like it's a wax foundation? Do they build it with same speed? And do they build mostly worker cells? If so, there's no reason for me to buy a wax foundation mill, or to make a silicone press.
Nice video
Very nice video!!
sheryl napier Thanks Sheryl!
Tim,
when possible make a video showing the fabrication of the frames that you use in your boxes. The box uses a larger number of frames but with different measures of the langstroth model. Greetins from Brazil.
*Bees start invading the camera* They love us xD
Great video ! sam
coffepotty Thanks Sam!
Thank you very nice a vidieo
Where did the bees build the drone-brood comb in terms of position of frame in hive(s)?
I ask as I'm thinking of putting drone-foundation at positions 1 and 10 of my Langstroth hives. From your video, it would appear the drawn comb for drone-cells, was in the middle of the frames?
+Ralph Beales In my experience, if they don't have enough options to choose freely (not enough drone foundation, or enough empty frames) then they will build wherever they can. But if you let them choose, they will build a small amount of drone comb on every comb in the brood nest. Rather than having big slabs of either type, they seem to like to mix it up.
Hi
I'm a fan of your beekeeping methods, love your videos. May I ask, with your flat foundations what size cells do you end up with ?
Thanks
regards
D
That's what the video's all about, D. Mostly worker cells but lots of drone cells too.
Hi
I understand this, was interested in a mm size out of interest if it was available. Reason is, wondering if the cell size get smaller & to what size, as Michael Bush from www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm seems to suggest & it's benefits. regards D
Ah ha! Now I get you. I'll try to measure them some day..
Have you noticed if the amount of drones produced in the hive has any effect on honey production?
good question - but I think there are too many other variables to be sure.
There are suggestions but not proven that keeping drones in a hive will actually increase honey production. Removing drone comb will reduced honey production. I heard this years ago but never really saw anything to prove it. Just by observations I guess.
@@beebob1279 heard the opposite,
Raising drones will take resources/food/honey and also will use more bee power to feed and raise them.
Instead raising drones, worker bees can raise more worker bees which could collect more syrup and pollen.
On the other hand, raising more drone will also raise more mites since mites get one more brood cycle in when inside the covered drone cells since drones take longer to hatch/emerge from the drone cell. A lot of capped worker cells will also raise a lot of mites and this is why very strong hives may fail in winter.
@@FloryJohann Yep, I've heard that thought too. The point I was told years ago was that not having drones deprives the hive from its natural drive to reproduce therefore reducing its productivity.
It would be a cool university study.
In spring when swarming season and honey flow is present, the queen will produce more drone. As the season continues into summer the production goes down. In late summer when the food is scares, worker bees may remove eggs larvae and pupae to save on food. Worker bees will kill drones in winter.
If things go bad inside the hive like to many bugs or mites, the queen will produce more drones before the hive packs up and swarms or abandon the old hive. Commercial bee keepers do not want drones if they trying to sell honey since it takes to much energy and time from the bees to raise drones. And commercial bee keepers that sell queens to not want to many drones either, they use a established hives and transplant thousands of eggs and /or larvae into queen cells to be raised and put into mini nucs. So there is not to much of drones that will be used, considering that one side of a drone frame has about 1,500 drones if I remember right.
I'm guessing that you either didn't use a queen excluder or you just made a one box colony. I was always curious about the differences of the drone and worker bees and how you might tell their cells apart. thank you
I never use a queen excluder
Yes! Awesome video! Thanks! Good info and explanation and I like your understanding that they know what they need! :)
Hello from Bulgaria excellent videos, very informative, Spent most of the afternoon looking through your videos especially the subjects that interest me. I"m thinking of setting up a couple of beehives, do you still use the same design and size's that you show in your build a Rose bee hive. thanks in advance
+JT777 Thanks JT777. Yes, I still use Rose hives - they're the best! (Actually, there could be the same sort of thing in Bulgaria too - I suggest you find a local hive that works for you..)
Thanks for your advice all the best
Hi Tim I get your method of a full sheet of foundation and alternate strip of small foundation [1 inch wide] I also notice that you have to cut this honey comb into pieces probably because putting it into the the honey spinner it would break it into pieces. Not yet being a Bee keeper [cannot wait until April when my Bees arrive] could you not put fishing line below the 1 inch foundation [like wired frames] ?? maybe the Bees will build comb incorporating the fishing line thus being able to stop it breaking then you may be able to put the frames into the honey spinning machine. Just a thought. All the best.
+John Traynor Hi John. I thought I said somewhere that I do extract from combs that are built without foundation or wire - perhaps I forgot to put that in? Anyway, you just have to go easy and it works fine (usually!) Fishing line would give some support but it's stretchy so you might prefer wire. Good luck!
Hi Tim thank's for your reply and comments, you probably did mentioned it in your video I more than likly missed it. thanks again.
Would it work to have hives set up and just let them be? Just to help the population and not for the point of collection of honey? Or would they eventually leave the hive completely?
The answer would have been yes for the last 150 million years, but these days the bees have to deal with Varroa mite and they need help with that. But it can literally take 5 minutes a year to control the mite, so it's not big deal.
Way Out West Blow-in blog I just meant if someone wanted personal hives of their own and not mess with them. But that makes sense lol
Thanks for making this video, I found this really interesting; I don't keep bees but I plan to start next year. I am curious though about your accent, where is it from?
Steve Kitsch Thanks Steve. Any ideas where you think my accent's from?
WayOutWest Blowinblog Maybe Ireland? Great videos by the way! I enjoy watching them and learning new things.
very interesting experiment - many thanks!
I have been looking for material on this topic on the Internet for a long time (using the base without a cell)
the video shows that the bees began to pull away the cells
but, I still have a question - if you put such blank sheets in a beehive - are there a honeycomb on them (or mostly drones)? ..
(очень интересный эксперимент - огромное спасибо!
долго искал в интернете материал на данную тему (использование вощины без ячейки)
на видео видно, что пчелы принялись оттягивать ячейки
но, у меня остался вопрос - если ставить в улей подобные чистые листы - на них пчелиный сот (или в основном - трутни)?..)
Did you find the video I made about this? Have a look under 'beekeeping' in our playlist..
I subscribed now
Hi , is it a good idea to use ONLY home made flat sheet without matrix ? Some other say the bees built then much more slowly in comparison with "matrix" foundation or when using foundationless frames . Whatś your experience pls ? I see some big advantages to use this flat foundation - if it works ? I hope it can compromise the freedom for bees to built whatever they want but prevent the extremely "wild" shapes which makes work difficult , save money, time etc... I use the frames dimmension 39x24 cm therefore the starting strip isn´t sufficient sometimes - my frames are higher than yours.. Why you combine both flat and matrix foundation ? Is there some specific reason ? Sorry for my english - I´m from Czech rep. ...
+Jan Mazánek HI Jan - Have another look at the video and you'll find the answers, I think.
A mixture is best, I think, for the beekeeper.
Whole sheets of flat wax probably need wire or they will warp while they're being built.
The bees build very quickly on flat sheets - if the weather's good and they need to build
How many layers do you use for foundation please? Is 2 okay? Without having done this method it seems it'd be too thin. Thank you
No such thing as too thin, David - as long as you can handle it and it stays together. The bees will make it the correct thickness - all you have to do is encourage them to build in a straight line along the frame.
@@WayOutWestx2
Alright then. That's perfect. Just like plastic or wood starter strips but better! Thank you!!!
where did u got that press for honeycomb pattern?
nice
Hi Tim. I live in co.Cavan . I just turned 16 and I've been beekeeping for the last 2 years . I've been looking around and you seem to be the only person in the country that keeps the native black bee the treatment free method. I use national hives but your rose hives interest me alot .
Since you have native black bees and keep them in the treatment free method could I possibly get a swarm from you this year . ( summer weather and all that depending) .
I checked my hives the other day and one died over the winter :( .
But now looking at it , it's an opportunity to get some hardy native bees. so can I buy a nuc off you this summer ?
+Ewan Fuller I'm not treatment free, Ewan (who told you that?). I have to treat against varroa or I wouldn't have any bees left!
Is it really that bad there? We gave all that up about ten years ago. The only "treatment" they get for anything is screen bottoms and bug resistant legs on the stands. Last year, the infamous hive beetles made their way in for the first time. Hopefully we can get them under control without chemicals.
I must say, given your proper stance on "leaving bees to be bees" I'm surprised, (not critically) that you'd use any drug treatments. I know nothing of that type of hive, can you put something similar to screen bottoms on them? We lost 50 percent of our hives while "chemically treating" them a decade ago. The next year we switched to screen bottoms through the summer, and haven't had to deal with any mites of any kind since? I see them on occasion when I'm checking the brood health, but in guessing, I'd say, maybe .01 percent. The idea of them falling out upon the new brood exiting the cell must be true, because, as I said, we still have them, they just don't seem to be able to reach critical population with the screen boards and leg protectors to keep things from crawling in the hive. The one thing that sucks is, despite building them a fresh water filtered, natural pond, they still want to drink the water in the legs' cans, and especially new hives, they drown in much bigger numbers than is comfortable. It seems after the first year, they learn to quit trying to drink that water.
Anyway, thanks for your well thought out and talented videos.
We've used mesh floors for decades too. Where are you, Jasper?
I dont know anything about beekeeping but it appears that your hive choice is a very holistic one. the bees are allowed to establish their society as is fitting them and their current environment. the Queen roves. the workers make all sorts of decisions.
Martha Anderson Exactly Martha!
What is the "washing up liquid" you put in with the press? Just water?
water plus w.u.l. Not sure what you'd call it - the liquid you put into the sink when you're washing the dishes
Love it.....caught my first swarm last week so I'm officially a beekeeper ...can't wait to open up next week to see if they've drawn out frames and if the queen is laying
jc syson Congratulations JC. Very exciting!
Have you an explanation on how you collect old wax from frames into the blocks you show?
Have a look at our 'Bees and Beekeeping' playlist..
How do you tell the difference between drone comb and worker comb. Great video
the drone comb has much bigger cells in it. It's very easy to see the difference once you know
If a drone cell is empty it would have a bigger diameter than a worker cell.
If a drone cell is capped, the capping looks like a dome and is curved outward, while a capped worker cell is flat.
A queen cell on the other hand will look more like a bell if empty and will look like a peanut with shell when capped. To note here is that a queen cell will be attached/hang from the side of the combs and from the bottom of the frame or comb.
I have read others having success extracting medium frames without wires as long as they started spinning slowly, yours are just a little bit taller than those. Were your extracting attempts not successful? I like your method but im trying to decide what size frame to use to get away without using wires but if yours wont extract easily maybe ill just stick with the mediums others have had success with. What do you think, what are your thoughts on going completely wireless? Looks like you deal with that issue be using a lot of wired frames to insure a good honey harvest.
+codygillespie I'm scaling down my commercial operation (because of the weather) so I can easily sell all I can produce - even if it all went out as cut comb. But, I spin most of the honey from wired or unwired combs. As I say, it just has to be done carefully and when the honey is still fresh and liquid. I imagine if I had Oil Seed Rape around me it would be that much more difficult again, because it would stiffen up so quickly. I use a mixture of wired and unwired - perhaps that's what I'd recommend!
Are you using a langstoth style hive. It seems to be different then what we use here in the U.S.A.
It's my own design - Rose bee hives are the best! (look them up..)
Blimey....Limey
Hola: ¿cómo te aseguras de esterilizar la cera de?
We can't be sure it's sterilized - but it gets hot when it's made into the sheets.
Can I get a picture of the shape of wax paper after printing