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Old 06-05-2017, 08:30 PM   #219
Mikepd
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Join Date: Oct 2008
First Name: Michael
Location: Upstate, NY
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Default Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping

Vin looking good! That comb up top is such a beautiful pure white, that'll be packed with honey before you know it (maybe even before July). Don't fret over the attached combs and free form, like your other keeper friend said, too much space. You may want to get a very wide thin metal putty scraper to fit the width of the hive. You can make a tool too with some dowels and piano wire in place of the scraper. If propulous abounds they'll likely rebuild between the boxes again. As far as the free form comb, if it really is a pest, just cut it and rubberband or string into empty frames. I like the string because the workers will chew it and remove it once all the comb is reattached to the frame. They are pretty smart typically and after a few corrections to them, they'll learn to do it your way so the comb doesn't continue to get disturbed.

How's the queen doing? Any queen cells yet in the bottom box? Also is your queen still relaying eggs in the hatched brood comb? If you find some cells before hatching you might be able to split off a small group into a second hive if you were daring enough!

Be happy you didn't get a flow hive if you ever were thinking of it, there seems to be an issue where queens are passing their queen separator and laying brood in the mechanical comb meant for honey and rendering it an overly expensive plastic frame.
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