Hi. Brand new bee keeper here from Sydney (hills district). 2 weeks ago I installed a bee package in a 10 frame (foundation) brood box. 3 days later I checked to make sure the queen had been released - and it had. In my haste to make my first inspection a quick one I left the queen cage between the frames and closed up the hive. Today (2 weeks on) i did another inspection to find my bees were doing great and had started drawing out 2 frames with lots of activity at the entrance.
I then removed the queen cage but realised that the cage pushed between the frames had created an extra 5 -8mm gap between the frames and the comb they have drawn out has filled that gap. I didnt want to push the frames together in case I trapped bees or injured the queen.
Are there any helpful suggestions for what I should do from here? Am I now stuck with a frame that is extra thick now for some time to come? is there anything i could or should do now or maybe when they are better established to reduce the comb thickness and recover my frame spacing?
I’d recommend correcting it early before things become even more wonky. Probably easiest to just shave it down with a knife or your hive tool or push it over so that the whole comb is more centered but - you’re using foundation - just squish it down. The bees will fix it up quickly.
Ok great thanks for the advice. Should I shake all the bees off or smoke them off or just try and work around them? Also - how often should I be inspecting a new hive? Is every two weeks too often??
It doesn’t sound like you have a big job so working around them with a bit of smoke so they don’t get maimed is probably all it will take.
If you’re really worried about the comb or something else then look early so you can re-correct if needed. Otherwise, just follow the normal frequency for the location and season.
I don’t think two weeks is too often - most people say to just make sure you have a reason for your inspection (which may include learning more about the bees and get better at opening the hive).