What you propose is what I am also doing, but I just backup the NUC frames to one side with a starter strip frame between the box and the fist nuc frame and keep adding starter strip frames on that side. That way, when I have 10 frames in the bottom, I can start removing the NUC frames one by one and ensure that I have only fresh wax in my breeder box. For now, it seems to work.
T[quote=âpablo, post:41, topic:4866â]
between the box and the fist nuc frame
[/quote]
Hey thatâs a good idea, so they wouldnât build in the big space. Perhaps may have to put the last two in together.
Excitement abound first look at week 1
I decided not to rearrange the NUC frames and kept them the same as the beekeeper loaded them to save any further stress. I started to open them out but stopped to photo the comb between the frames at the top. I am guessing this is normal.
The NUC frames were all pretty similar.
This NUC3 and the white capping seems very concave at the top and outer. The middle is capped brood?
This is NUC4 and that concave capped cells areyellow one side white the other.
The other 3 NUC frames are a mix of 3 and 4.
Now the exciting bit
This the one next to the box and least developed Note the bees building cell on the feeder cap in the background. I guess this means the spac above the frames is too large?
This one is next to that one or 2nd from the box
This is the most cetral in the hive.
I am impressed with the progress.
Question. I would think that in another 5 or 6 day these new frames will be full.
Would it be wise to look at them again in a week or in say 6 days put on the Flowframe super?
For all those just starting some of the mystery has gone but I still think I am squishing bees and I take everything slow and easy. Thats the nerve racking bit.
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Hi Busso,
Your bees are building some really good comb there, in regards to the comb on the top of the frames that you were referring to where its bridging between two frames, get your hive tool and scrape it off. There is no harm done, but the bees donât need any encouragement to build cross-comb. Your brood looks to be a bit light on, I see lots of honey in those frames but only one photo of capped brood interspersed with what looks like pollen. On your inspection did you notice any eggs and larva? i.e. evidence that the queen is laying. On your first photo, there is some gaps between the left hand side frame and the middle frames as well as the side of the brood box, was this just for the photo. In any case, make sure all your brood frames are pushed together otherwise the bees build cross / bridging comb⌠but looking good so far. Keep up the good work.
It is - bees love building comb when they have plenty of honey. I clear it up a bit, but lots of people donât bother, because the bees just rebuild it.
The white capping at the top and edge is honey. The domed yellow caps in the middle are brood. This frame actually probably shows quite a nice demonstration of wet and dry capping on the honey. Although it is hard to tell with the shadow, it looks as if the bottom left of the photo is wet capping, while the top is dry. This doesnât matter at all, and doesnât affect the quality of the honey, it is just interesting. 
Here is a link discussing the difference.
Rusty is a good beekeeper, even if she doesnât think much of our Flow hives, so it is still worth reading her blog! 
NUC4 looks like mostly honey, again mixed wet and dry cappings.
Could be - I havenât seen your inner cover. Some covers have an âup sideâ and a âdownâ side, which is meant to create more accurate bee space, and discourage bridging comb. However, bees often build bridge comb up there even if the cover is the right way up. Doesnât look like you have much, I wouldnât worry about it. Nice new comb they are building.
I would certainly look at them again, but I would only put the Flow super on if every frame is well-covered with bees, and it looks like they are laying down brood or stores in a lot of the new comb. I am still sad about what happened to my friendsâ bees when they added another box too soon, so perhaps I am too conservative.
Yes @Rodderick was just for the camera. I was going to spread them all out but stopped for the photo
No I didnât notice eggs or lava I was too dammed scared I was going to drop the frame or something as equally catastrophic. I was more interested in a quick look and put them back. No doubt as I become used to handling the frames and learn to read the signs the bees are giving out I will examine the frames more closely.
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Just a further thought here. We have been having the weirdest weather here. We have had in the middle of our summer weather best described as cold very wet and typical of winter. The paddocks which should be brown, dry and dusty are looking like first month of spring with all grass shooting and everywhere tinged with green.
Perhaps the bees are thinking winter mode and laying down honey to store instead of brood.
And no I didnât see the queen.
Maybe, but they are pretty smart about length of days when judging the season for brood-laying. Brood-laying slows down or stops when pollen is in short supply, the queen is aging, or there is no queen. Hopefully you have eggs and uncapped larvae. Your next inspection will reveal all! 
Dawn
Good Evening @Dawn_SD. That dry and wet capping article was really interesting.
Thanks for your comments. I will heed your concern about rushing a super.
Our part of Australia is lucky to have strong nectar rich flowering of the Marri trees usually Feb to late March or early April. So we are a little different.
I agree with Dawn. You should have brood in most of the frames before you put a super on.
I would stop feeding. There are more than enough stores to last them till you next look in.
Thatâs interesting. I always considered wet cappings to be older stores where the cappings shrink down on to the honey and dry cappings to be freshly capped with an air bubble above the honey.
My overwintered stores all are âwetâ.
Good pics though Busso, confidence in handling will come each time you do your inspection even to the point of leaving the gloves off, if the girls are quiet enough. Enjoy
Never liked gloves 
Gooday Busso ,
Welcome to the bee world from the "Captain " down in green east Gippsland Victoria . Your start is excellent and I agree the natural foundation is a great way to go . Your bees have processed their environment and situation with over 200,000,000 (200 million years experience ) .They do well despite our interventions allowing for all manner of variations thrown at them by nature and Man they improvise ,adapt and overcome -99% of the time .- a good motto ! . Every bee keeper produces honey . Some get diseases in there hives , some do not very often .some get a lot and others not so . I think you should put bee health first and all the rest a distant second .
I like âMichael Bushes " website and bee philosophy , his gleanings sit well with me and my sustainability / permaculture leanings .
I have two tips for you , 1. Do not feed your bees sugar and water .( unless desperate )
2. when in doubt do nothing . ( at least for the first few years )
Natural honey has a ph of 3-4 and a SG heavier than water . Feeding sugar syrup , alters both .This weakens the natural anti-bacterial properties of honey * , and prolonged could allow diseases to flourish in your hive . I do not think it is just co-incidence that avid feeders ignorantly allow diseases to take hold .
This is supported by the fact both amino acid and anti-bacterial levels are higher in honey from natural nectar , mycelium and pollen sources . As nectar converts to honey in the cells , these beneficial attributes further concentrate .**
Ref Paul Stamets of:â ted dot com " fame and Michael Bush . both excellent reads .
Doing nothing , means do not fiddle with bees . Observe , record observations in a book with times ,dates , weather -all recorded , then consult a mentor who has years of experience , think about it ,re-observe then finally react at one of your subsequent inspections .
Cheers -from the Captain
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Thank you Sir,
I am in a very good location in that (1) the weather is rarely extreme, hot or cold (2) there is abundant trees and shrubs flowering throughout the year for plentiful year round nectar and pollen collection so I do not foresee any situation where I would need to feed.
Being conservative by nature your comments of âdonât rush inâ ring true.
And I have no problem in asking questions here and getting good answers I can understand.
Hi Busso ,
Its the Captain again , I noticed the gap between frames in your box . I suggest you consider shaving your frabes down to 1.25 " to allow you to fit an extra frame in your box . this will pack up tight your frames leaving little space for extra bridging and double builds . Give them space and they will build . In your brood box, you can increase 5500 brood cells making for a bigger colony without the brood going to a second box . Given extra space ,Bees will build out to fill the gap . this can result in the rolling of your bees during inspections and increase the chances of killing the queen . It may sound counter intuitive , but by controlling the "bee space "you minimise the unwanted bulges and comb build where you do not want it .
Cheers The Captain
Yes thanks mate, already done. I shaved down one frame so that 8 frames went shoulder to shoulder and the 9th one slotted firm in the last slot (next to the wall).
Regards
busso
Hi Busso,
How did you shave the frame down? I use a 10 frame box for 10 frames of brood and my frames are tight⌠real tight! ⌠wondering if its possible to shave the frame ends or shave the pieces prior to assembling the frames with a wood plane and then gradually work through replacing them one by one⌠my dark bees produce a lot of propolis so I end up breaking the odd frame trying to lever them out⌠
I just wacked it on a linisher until the frame ends fitted in the 9th slot. Meant I lost both shoulders but the bottom still same width. ie. the sides are now parallel.
Just further to that a good quality linisher is one of the essential pieces of machinery a workshop should have. I would have used mine at least 2 - 3 a week over last 35 years I have had it. Has a 150mm belt and 200mm disk. Sands wood,plastic, aluminium and fingers.
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I gouged my fingers on an old router today. The adjustment ring was very tight, and I wasnât quite sure how it worked. The next thing I knew⌠blood on my trousers, painful knuckles, but the ring loosened! How is it that lubricants turn to honey in consistency over the years? It must be over 15 years since my father last used that router.
Now I want a router table, a saw table, and I guess I want a linisher too, although I never heard of them before - is that the same as a belt sander? Not sure I have the talent to justify any of these though, based on my results from today.
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