Any different angles would be fine. I do this (see photo) and it seems to work ok. I use wire too. One other thing I do is put these next to full foundation wax frames - in other words, one for them to make next to one already done and so on. I think I can do three frames with one sheet of wax if it is like the bottom frame there.
OK. Do you need special wiring tools?
Hi Bec. No, I donāt use any but have developed a few techniques and am getting better at it. Some people use a crimping tool to get them tighter but I donāt have one. You probably do need little eyelet things to go in some of the holes where the wire cuts with the grain (not needed where it goes against it). Bear in mind, these photos are of ideal super frames which I spin out in an extractor so the wire holds the wax in better I believe as they spin around at high speed. I do also use these in my brood boxes as here there is an inclination to use ideals for the entire apiary. I think it probably comes from the shorter and smaller honey flows here, but not sure. Certainly the Flow super is a huge thing to fill with honey down here.
It doesnāt look too bad. What was your frame spacing like? Did you have them butted together nicely? It looks like the colony is still very much in the building phase.
Did an inspection today. The colony has continued to explode and seems to be going extremely well. There is an abundance of nectar and pollen. As a reference point, from my hybrid super I was able to harvest a flow frame 2 wks ago and got just over 3kg from the one frame. The other 2 flow frames were half or less than half full. During todayās inspection all three flow frames could have been harvested (if I had have checked moisture content firstā¦). So that means in 2wks the bees have brought in over 5kg of nectar!
A nectar flow would definitely seem to be on in the Northern suburbs.
As for whether or not I harvested: no. Instead I put a second full-flow super on the hive and will hopefully harvest 5 or 6 frames in a few weeks.
An Interesting observation (compared to last year) is the where the drone cells are being built.
Last year I had the entrance fully open (full width of the box) and most drone cells occurred on the south side nearer to the entrance, but somewhat spread across the entrance side of the hive (i.e. where it will likely be colder).
This year Iāve reduced the entrance by half and the location of the drone cells has altered (half of the entrance from the south side is blocked). In keeping with last year it tends to be along the open entrance on the bottom of the frame (not unexpected). However, the difference is that this year some of the drone cells have also been built up the edge of the frame nearest to the entrance. While this is in keeping with where the hive will likely be coldest/have the largest or most consistent draught, it would seem to indicate that a colony decides on an optimum number of drones and then builds the cells accordingly.
The drone cells built on the vertical edge of the frame will be in a warmer location than those on the bottom across the entrance but they will still not likely be in an āoptimumā location in the hive where it is warmest/most consistent in temperature and humidity.
Of course, this is only a comparison across one season and one hive. I wonder if drone cells could be controlled by artificially controlling the temperature/flow of air within the hive. Is there a temp/air flow point at which drone cells wonāt be built because the conditions are better for something else? Or is drone count only really determined by how the colony determines their own needs and chance of success relative to the season itself? Does location of rearing affect the development or genetics of a drone in any manner (i.e. how does a warmer spot in the hive impact a droneās development relative to a colder spot)?
Anyway, enough of my ramblingsā¦
Has anyone else noticed anything different/of note/interesting in their hive this year due to a change theyāve made or simply just between last season and this season?
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Conducted my first inspection after receiving my 4 frame nuc 9 days ago.
3 of the new frames have been drawn beautifully from the guide strip (very clever girls). 2 of the frames are about 2/3 drawn, 1 frame 1/4 drawn and the 4th frame on the outside nothing at all yet.
Does anyone have any idea from their experience of starting a nuc colony at this time of the year how long it may take before I can put a super on top?
There is a very good pollen and nectar flow occurring in the southern suburbs at the moment and my girls are incredibly busy bringing it in, there is an abundance of flowering plants, Bottlebrush, Viburnum, Daisy, Olive, Avocado, just to name a few! The Jacarandas are just about to start and the large gum trees across the road in the park are loaded with flower buds, so I am excited about the months to come and the honey flowing!!
@Philat39, Iām not saying thereās not a nectar flow in your area but just because they are bringing pollen back doesnāt mean thereās nectar around. The majority of the nectar they are bringing back will be being used to draw comb. We get pollen year round here but not nectar.
Never expect to extract honey In the first year is a rule of thumb. Do not add the super until all frames are fully drawn and fully covered in bees. Any earlier can set them back further.
You could feed them to help with comb production however it is best to let them build at their own pace as they know best.
Welcome to beekeeping, patience.
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Thanks @skeggley,
Iām pretty certain based on yesterdayās inspection that nectar is also coming in as there was plenty of uncapped nectar on the frames, as well as a well capped honey frame that was already with the nuc.
Patience certainly is required in this game, having waited 4 months for my nuc, it gave me a lot of time to read and view copious amounts of information and attend Beekeeping 101 during that time.
However, there certainly comes a time when you just need to do it and start learning for yourself!!
Anyway, does anyone have a clue as to how long in the Perth metro (old suburb) it may take to get to the stage of putting the super on? I understand that there is no one correct answer, just an indication of otherās experiences from
nuc - super.
Cheers 
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and attend Beekeeping 101ā¦
Iām assuming you are referring to the WAAS course? If so, fantastic to see you proactively taking the lead on learning 
As for how long until you put a super on, when did you get your Nuc?
To help give you a reference (keep in mind I live in Perthās northern suburbs), when I got my Nuc originally (the other year) it was in Jan/Feb. My colony had expanded to fill 80% of the brood box by about mid Aug, so by late Aug I had the first super on. By early/mid Oct I recall putting the second hybrid super on, and by late Oct/early Nov I had a half-deep on too (or perhaps it was the other way aroundā¦?). This year I kept a hybrid super on all winter and only just added my second super (full flow) on the weekend just gone.
Everyoneās answer is going to be different as it depends on alot of suburbs. My guess would be that if you got your Nuc 4 months ago you should be nearing or at the point your super can be installedā¦but it depends on what is around you (pollen & nectar source) and how good (prolific) your queen is at layingā¦
How many drones have you noticed on your last inspection?
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Hi @SnowflakeHoney,
Yes, it was the WAAS course. Very good course for everyone before they get their bees.
I have only had the nuc for a week and a half. 4 frames and up until today, beautiful spring weather!!
As this was my first inspection since installing the nuc, I was a little a miss in not taking enough notice of how many Drones, etc. I was more focused on making sure the comb was being built straight and looking for my queen. I was successful with the former, unfortunately though, the queen evaded my untrained eye!
However, there were drones on the frames and definitely drone brood. I didnāt see eggs as Iām struggling with having to wear bloody reading glasses under my veil to see anything these days and add to that sweat dripping into my eyes, smoke and lots of new stuff to look at, I didnāt see any. There was very small larvae though, which at least confirmed the queen has been laying since installing my nuc.
Thanks for your experiences and for the record Iām certainly not expecting honey next week!!
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If youāve only just got your nuc, and assuming youāre in the suburbs, Iām guessing it will be December before you are in a position to put your super on. You might be lucky enough to get a partial harvest in March. I wouldnāt be taking all the honey in Marchā¦ Iād be leaving some for the bees over winter (in Perth you can usually safely leave the super on).
Note the above is simply a guess. You will need to use your inspections as a guide. If someone came back to this post and said what Iāve typed is rubbish, theyād be rightā¦ Iām unlikely to be living in your street so my experiences will be different, and so will the basis for my guesswork.
Happy beekeeping 
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The Jarrah has started flowering in Bunbury/Busselton area and there is extremely heavy blossom.
This is a bit earlier than last year here but way heavier blossom and widespread.
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I wish I could move my hiveā¦!
Hi Busso. Could you please post a pic of a jarrah in flower?
Iām intrigued by your WA trees.
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Hi Jeff, I want to see Bussoās fat flowers from this season. The pics on the internet arenāt now.
Even here, there are so many gum trees in flower, but most are too high and I canāt see them properly. Maybe Busso canāt take jarrah flower photos either.
A drone would be good.
I heard jarrah honey has special health properties and wonder if I could get a couple of trees to plant on our land.
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Guess itās called a drone because it makes such a humming racket.
I heard too that sugarbags make really good honey. Also they are big on propolis, the black gold in beekeeping. You are lucky to get 1kg of honey per colony per year, but itās potent.
I have a friend up your way (Binjour) who has several native hives, rather small boxes. Will ask him if he educates me. The native bees sure outnumber my bees around here. I often see them foraging on the same flower, never a fight.
We had some nice rain, in fact, itās still raining, nice and slow. We only had about 7 inches so far. The dams are near full, such a blessing. The creeks in the valley are near flooding.
Iām surprised to see the bees out and about foraging in this weather, but they come back fully loaded.
Iām considering to underflowsuper the one double brood hive I have, as an experiment. Meaning, put an empty flow frame box under the almost full one, above the QX.
I took a split out of that double brood box recently and replaced the 5 taken frames with foundationless ones. And they still keep bringing in the nectar.
I thought, to entice them to fill the flow frames properly, I give them a new flow box to work on underneath.
Really just buying time and keeping this big hive busy until my Ligurian queens arrive.
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Not a problem.
As an aside, we have a very restricted sub species of Jarrah (E. marginata) along the Witcher Ridge between Chapman Hill and Sues Road which starts flowering in late May and finishes early July, where as elsewhere Jarrah flowers November though to January.
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This is true. In fact it has about twice the antimicrobial activity of manuka honey.
NZ is very good at marketing and Aussie isnāt, hence little noise about Jarrah honey.
Reference: researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1039&context=pubns
by RJG Manning - ā2011
9-2011. Research into Western Australian honeys. Robert J G Manning. Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia, rob.manning@agric.wa.gov.au.[quote=āWebclan, post:578, topic:8608ā]
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Thanks Busso.
Wow, thought I heard jarrah talk through a grapevine last year.
Never mind marketing, you want that goodness for yourself and family. Itās rare enough to keep (and sell some to me).
There is a big company around here who claims to have identified our area as best for growing leptospermum for Manuka honey. If you have at least 4 ha of land you can grow leptospermum, keep your bees for them and they will come harvest it for you. The company is called Gather By.
Fortunately itās not suitable for flow hivers.
Obviously your WA honey is equivalent or better anyway.
And I think my honey is better too.
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