Permacomb for brood boxes

[Fernhill]

This year is my first trying Permacomb. I have 3 hives where I've given them nothing but. One superceded their queen so I gave them a new Minnesota Hygenic which they've apparently accepted. She's not laying any eggs however and I can't figure out why. The other two hives have what I'd call a spotty brood pattern. None have any problem storing nectar or pollen in the cells but they seem reluctant to raise brood in them. I sprayed all the frames with sugar water w/HoneyBHealthy before I put them in. Any suggestions. I'm considering pulling the frames and just using them for supers but I'd like to get some input from you folks. I know others are using Permacomb for brood with success. What's the secret?

[Michael Bush]

Bullseye uses the most unwaxed that I know of. Mine is wax dipped and I have no acceptance problems.

[Patrick Scannell]

You could replace one frame with regular wood and wax comb just to see if that really makes any difference.

Perhaps just giving them more time would help.

I use permacomb for brood and like it.

[Phil Minnesota]

Fernhill, I'm in the same boat. total of four hives but only used one with PC. didn't know if it was the queen or the PC. (3lb. Weaver Buckfast
with bee-pro pollen and fed constantly )

Two weeks into it there was a really spotty pattern. Gave the queen a little time to ramp up. Just went thru them today betwwen raindrops to find the same brood pattern. Other three hives on wax doing great. Brood like mad. Threw on a drawn medium and we'll see what happens.

There's alot of people out there using PC,so it's not junk. Think I'll brood wax then add PC for honey and use those as brood next year.

Plan on going to all PC if I can get better acceptance next year.

[Fernhill]

>Think I'll brood wax then add PC for honey and use those as brood next year.

That's my thinking at the moment too. I'll try to get the bees to accept it by using them as supers the first year and then putting them in the brood chamber next year. I don't have anything large enough to hold enough melted wax to dip them like MB and some others do but that sounds like the path to surefire acceptance the first year. We'll see.

Mike

[Ishi]

Melt the wax in a can (be careful to not catch it on fire) use a foam paint brush and paint it on. The lower the temp of the wax the more wax that will stay on the plastic comb.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

>What's the secret?

Using a block of bees wax, rub both sides of each comb before introducing it to the bees. It will give the new comb scent and get the bees to start working it.

I have also had good luck with taking crushed comb and honey from cut-outs and smearing the frames. Even pouring a little honey on the comb will work.

The manufacturer does not recomend that you interleave foundation and PC in the same box.

If you are using PC for honey supers and use excluders, put one or two frames os brood capped brood in the super to get the bees to traverse the excluder and work the comb.

A growing broodnest can be spread and fresh PC added into the brood frames. As a matter of fact, if you don't spread them out it is not uncommon to see 'chimining', where they will fill five or six frames and grow up without spreading out to the sides of the box. But that also has to do with giving them too much room too soon.

Once the PC is used, any hive regardless of colony strength will utilize the PC as readily as all wax comb.

Honey-B-Healthy. As we know, is quite attractive to bees when mixed in sugar syrup. Used at the wrong time and it will cause you robbing problems, but used correctly it can be quite a help. Spray the frames as you add them to the hive with a spray bottle.

I use it on swarms to anchor them to nucs, or intice them out of a bush or hard to reach place into a box.

Spraying it on plastic will get them to start cleaning the cells and make for faster acceptance.

I use almost all PC in my hives. This year I am trying some foundationless and SC starter strips in my caught swarms. I am a bit hesitant because I have found that my hives that are 100% PC had less varroa than the hives that had wax comb in them. Including the hives with comb from cut-outs, that were natural size. Of all my dead outs from last winter, most of them had drawn wax in them, (from cut-outs).