Fully drawn small cell question

[Rob-bee]

If Honey Super Cell ever gets their product on the market, I would like to know if one would install all ten frames at the same time? And if so would that limit the bees to only raising worker bees and no drone? I would like to try them but dont know how to set up the hive-body using all SC frames. I am talking about a package install here. BUT.. what if one bought a nuc? How would you do it then??

[Michael Bush]

I'd probably use 9 frames of the fully drawn plastic and one empty frame on the end to let the bees build what they want. They probably won't be that interested in drones until they get on their feet. You could put more empty frames in if you want.

But then I'd probably start them in a five frame nuc, not a ten frame box. I put my packages in a five frame medium nuc. A five frame deep is half again that size and a ten frame deep is three times that size.

If you start with a nuc in a ten frame box, I'd put a frame of the supercell in the center of the brood nest and the rest on the outsides. As the nest expands and the bees get more populous, you could feed more frames into the center.

[Joseph Clemens]

If the frames were optimally 1-1/4" wide, I would insert 10 per 10-frame super with slatted racks on each end to promote possibility of 20 comb surfaces of brood and a slightly lighter weight per super.

[Michael Bush]

This is, of course, presuming that:

1) it will get to market.

2) it will be of a size to be useful to the bees and to regression, which, preferably would be an ID of 4.8mm.

Too much smaller would be likely to not be accepted by the unregressed bees and too much larger would not be small enough to completely deal with the mites.

[Sundance]

If it gets to market seems to be the issue...... I am watching and hoping. Not too fond of the idea of dipping PermaComb in hot wax a few hundred times. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Michael Bush]

>Not too fond of the idea of dipping pierco in hot wax a few hundred times.

That would be unprofitable since Pierco has no actual cell wall the bees will build the cell wall so coating it won't change the cell size any at all and the cell size is (depending on if it's sheets, frames, mediums, or deeps) it's, at best, 5.2mm and at worst 5.3mm. Better than 5.4mm but not enough to deal with the mites.

http://www.bushfarms.com/images/Pier...mmMeasured.jpg
http://www.bushfarms.com/images/Pier...25Measured.JPG

[Sundance]

Excuse my mistake on the manufacturer.

What is it that you dip in hot wax in order to reduce cell size?

[Michael Bush]

PermaComb is the only fully drawn plastic comb currently on the market that I know of and that's what I dip. It's already about 5.1mm equvilant (taking the difference in cell wall thickness into account) without dipping it.

[Sundance]

Thanks Michael....... previous post has been edited.

I will probably end up buying some this coming spring unless the other product hits the market.

[Sundance]

I guess I won't be buying permacomb as it appears to be only available in medium.

[Michael Bush]

> guess I won't be buying permacomb as it appears to be only available in medium.

Is there another size of box?