Is it common for the honeycomb to connect between the top deep brood box and the bottom one?
It makes hive inspections difficult trying to remove the top box as well as the angering of a lot of bees.
It seems like some bees will do that - scraping the bottoms and tops of the frames every time you go in might help. How long has it been since your last inspection? I have only really had that problem after I haven’t been inside for a long time, like over winter.
Are you using foundationless frames? Is the comb between the boxes drone comb?
Do they need more space?
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This is my first year with a new colony getting a package going. I checked them thoroughly about 3 weeks ago and most of the top box was drawn out. When I checked them last weekend when I pulled the top frames out to take a look, I was ripping the comb in between
After seeing this, I added a honey super on top as the bottom 2 boxes were getting pretty full.
It does look quite full, maybe scraping it down and adding the super will prevent in the future.
Looks like you have black plastic worker foundation?
Maybe providing them with a couple of foundationless frames on the edges of the top box will let them make some drone comb and they won’t build it between the boxes? Not sure on that point but it seems that strong colonies want to build that comb and will make it in inconvenient places if not given the space to do it conveniently…
Hi @FredM ,
It happens occasionally. If you feel that frames are connected between boxes, it is easier to rotate the whole box around the vertical axis to break the comb. If you do it slowly, bees have a chance to escape from the area and the whole procedure aggravates them less.
Hi Fred, your bees are doing a beautiful job. Hats off to those bees.
I would never attempt to lift a whole box off for number one reason: the weight factor.
Number 2 : the combination of all the frames stuck together adds up to quite a bit to release in one go. I prefer to remove 3 or 4 of the middle frames first before attempting to lift the box with the remaining frames. Each frame removed makes it just that little bit easier to remove the super.
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