Thank you for the advice! I really appreciate the guidance. I will go forward with the sugar/borax/water mixture immediately. I’m going to really do my best to stay away from the chemical, hubby is worried about the bees. As an old farmer he is familiar with what you suggested and knows how to apply.
At this point it is difficult to get into the hive because we are working at 2:00 in the afternoon and with my son playing ball, hubby doesn’t get home until after 7:30. I don’t feel confident going into the hive the first time singlehandedly doing this task.
Should I place wire within my frame for stability for the comb, or just use the bands?
Should I cut the comb at the top of the frame with a sharp knife or will the hive tool work for that? Has anyone used a guitar string for slicing comb?
Also am I understanding that the comb orientation needs to remain the same but it is acceptable to place two combs from different frames onto a new frame with the band? Remembering to not change the original top position of any comb I relocate, correct?
Activity was normal for late afternoon today when I went out there to watch them.
@Rodderick answered everything very nicely, except he didn’t deal with this question. I have not used a guitar string, but I have used nylon monofilament fishing line and dental floss. Both work very well, so a guitar string should work too. However, as Rod says, a sharp chef’s slicing knife (with an 8 to 10 inch blade) is my preferred tool for correcting crazy comb. The problem with string cutting wax is that you need both hands on the string, and it really does help more if one hand stabilizes the comb while the other cuts.
I know you asked Dawn, but it’s 4am where she is at the moment So I thought I’d volunteer an answer - the dark stuff, and the lighter yellow-orange stuff, is pollen. Looks like a few of your ladies lost their pollen pants Jk…it’s totally normal to see those!
Thank you very much! I have seen the pollen and wax flakes but the darker pieces were new. Thanks again, I believe we will attempt to go into the hive this afternoon to correct the crossing combs and band everything up as best as we can.
@Eva has picked it correctly, there is nothing there that is of any concern, I would be more concerned if the board didn’t have some. I saw your thread earlier but left it for Dawn. Good to see Eva answered, she is an asset to the forum and a top shiela as well.
Update us on how you go with the comb job
Regards
I really hope we did more help than damage today. We will wait a week and see how it looks. There was comb attached from each end frame to the inside wall of the box, we cut that off. We did our best to realign on new frames and secure with bands. We saw no evidence of any ants or SHB so we removed the empty trap. We did add a frame when we realized there was too much room in between the frames which I believe was part of the original problem. There are now 8 frames in the box and they are all touching with the extra room on the outside end frames. Oh I absolutely hate hurting the comb:cry:
I have no idea what to do at this point other than to wait a week and see what progress or harm has been done. The last frame is a frame my mentor gave me that had a half inch or so old dried comb and the bees took to it very well, one part started overlapping after we separated it a week ago. I am trying to do right if you have information to share please do. This is my very first hive and it’s only been in the first brood box since May 11.
I’ll sound like a broken record, pushing the idea of foundation. However I believe foundation is one of the main keys to successful beekeeping. Your photos of comb in empty frames reminds me of my last cut-out. For me that is only temporary until the bees get established. It is not a long term strategy. You’ll get the bees making a lot more worker bees once they have drawn foundation out properly. Sometimes they make a mess of wax foundation, so I cut it out & let them start again with fresh foundation.
Well, you identified the problem!
Should be smooth sailing from here on, more or less
I only ever had to do minor corrections, when the bees built their (honey) comb so fat that it was reaching into the space of the next foundationless frame.
Having the 8 frames pushed together in the middle now is as you should have done right from the start. All good now. Rookie mistake.
In future, if you let the bees build out a broodbox again, maybe you can try checkerboarding, alternating drawn comb with foundationless. Or indeed use foundation if you can source good one.
Yes, not having the full amount of frames in the box was the problem.
You did not forget to glue the wooden starter strip in?
It looks like you did a good job, well done. Langstroths need to to have 8 or 10 combs in them, depending on the size. If you don’t do that, and you are using foundationless frames, you take a big risk with crazy comb, as you discovered. Next time, you will know!
I like what I see but it also makes me appreciate that I have stuck to wired foundation. You might feel you have made a mess of the comb but in the long run you had no choice. Your frames should be touching each other at the tops of the risers, bees like what we would call a closed in space but remember they only need enough room to crawl about.
Any more room and they will build bridging comb. I checked a hive recently for a lady. The hive was really angry. I had to use a shovel to prize the lid off and it took hours to get to look at four of the eight frames, all because the home made hive was 40mm too wide and lack of maintenance of the hive. The next day I got all the super frames out, did an extraction and got the frames back into the hive. Next day there no sign of bearding and the hive was calm.
Sometimes you just have to take control for the bees benefit and that is nothing to feel bad about.
Regards
Hi Eyal,
Curious to hear how it turned out. I’m in California, just started bee keeping this spring, and got the flow super installed a few weeks back, so am hopeful. But always useful to hear from others what worked for them and what didn’t … Did you get to harvest the first year? How did the next spring go?
The rubber bands worked really well! All 8 frames are independent of each other and able to be lifted from the hive for inspection Thank you all so much! If y’all have any information to help me please let me know
That looks great! Just take really good care by keeping the frames upright when you inspect. Fresh comb is quite fragile, especially if it’s not yet attached to the sides.
The second last pic made me shout: hold it straight!
I have not used a guitar string, but I have used nylon monofilament fishing line and dental floss. Both work very well, so a guitar string should work too. However, as Rod says, a sharp chef’s slicing knife (with an 8 to 10 inch blade) is my preferred tool for correcting crazy comb. The problem with string cutting wax is that you need both hands on the string, and it really does help more if one hand stabilizes the comb while the other cuts.
So I thought I’d volunteer an answer - the dark stuff, and the lighter yellow-orange stuff, is pollen. Looks like a few of your ladies lost their pollen pants 
Jk…it’s totally normal to see those!
Sorry for the delay, I was on a long haul flight with no internet access. 
Thank you all so much! If y’all have any information to help me please let me know 
