Here's my problem.
I bought my woodenware from a carpenter who only makes beekeeping equipment because I wanted to support local business and he came highly recommended from the Philly Beekeeper's Association. The problem was that he outsourced the frame job to another carpenter. When I assembled my frames I noticed that some of measurements were off. It SEEMED very minor. (I talked to the seller about it and he offered to replace the few frames that I told him were incorrect, but because it SEEMED like such a small amount I didn't bother.)
Now my bees are doing very well. I installed x2 packages and they are very healthy, but the frame sizing problem has proven to be a bigger problem than I thought. During my 2nd to last inspection the bees had fused the comb in the 1st and 8th frames (in 8-frame foundationless mediums) to the wall of the super. I thought this was my fault for not adding a super in time. I added a super and they just exploded with activity. During the last inspection they had drawn out comb on all the frames in the top super (the 2nd) and done the same thing in the new super and the first one, although this time the combs were not all drawn out completely on the 1-8 frames in the 2nd super. They also drew out comb which was hollow in the middle of the frame and thus extra-wide, extending into the open area of the adjoining frame, creating a horrible mess.
Basically, it seems to me that the spacing is off and they're just doing their bee thing. My ideas on how to fix this are:
1) Buy all-new frames with correct spacing, cut out the bad comb and make them start over.
2) Get a frame-spacer and hope that rectifies the beespace problem.
3) Ask for help and receive a better option than 1 or 2.
This is a bit frustrating considering I spent an entire year reading beekeeping manuals so that I would know everything I needed to know as a beginner, got bees that were incredibly healthy and gentile, and then made such a dumb mistake. Also, we're in the middle of a heatwave here in PA with temps approaching 100 degrees and no relief in sight, so anything I do is going to get done when it's really hot outside.
As always, thanks to the beesource community for help!
I bought my woodenware from a carpenter who only makes beekeeping equipment because I wanted to support local business and he came highly recommended from the Philly Beekeeper's Association. The problem was that he outsourced the frame job to another carpenter. When I assembled my frames I noticed that some of measurements were off. It SEEMED very minor. (I talked to the seller about it and he offered to replace the few frames that I told him were incorrect, but because it SEEMED like such a small amount I didn't bother.)
Now my bees are doing very well. I installed x2 packages and they are very healthy, but the frame sizing problem has proven to be a bigger problem than I thought. During my 2nd to last inspection the bees had fused the comb in the 1st and 8th frames (in 8-frame foundationless mediums) to the wall of the super. I thought this was my fault for not adding a super in time. I added a super and they just exploded with activity. During the last inspection they had drawn out comb on all the frames in the top super (the 2nd) and done the same thing in the new super and the first one, although this time the combs were not all drawn out completely on the 1-8 frames in the 2nd super. They also drew out comb which was hollow in the middle of the frame and thus extra-wide, extending into the open area of the adjoining frame, creating a horrible mess.
Basically, it seems to me that the spacing is off and they're just doing their bee thing. My ideas on how to fix this are:
1) Buy all-new frames with correct spacing, cut out the bad comb and make them start over.
2) Get a frame-spacer and hope that rectifies the beespace problem.
3) Ask for help and receive a better option than 1 or 2.
This is a bit frustrating considering I spent an entire year reading beekeeping manuals so that I would know everything I needed to know as a beginner, got bees that were incredibly healthy and gentile, and then made such a dumb mistake. Also, we're in the middle of a heatwave here in PA with temps approaching 100 degrees and no relief in sight, so anything I do is going to get done when it's really hot outside.
As always, thanks to the beesource community for help!