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Want Swarm Prevention? Try the OSBN Method

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#1 · (Edited)
Opening the Sides of the Broodnest - OSBN

Main points:


  • Develops comb building before swarm season, which helps to reduce swarming. Due to extra comb for nectar storage and using up of nectar to make wax.
  • Enlarges the size of the Broodnest when the bees would usually be reducing it by backfilling, because the queen lays in empty comb as it is being built.
  • Can be done at colder temperatures than Opening the Broodnest.
  • Does not touch the Broodnest, so it doesn't force bees to heat a larger volume than they are used to heating. Which can cause chilled brood. (Especially with Carniolans).
  • Does not split the Broodnest, so if cold weather sets in there is no possibility of having the cluster split and emergency queen cells made by the queenless cluster.
  • The bees still have direct access to the frames that were beside the Broodnest, but now they are above instead. Not a problem, when heat rises.
  • The bees can build the comb in their own time, but the empty space (Hole) gives them an incentive to build comb.
What you will need:

At least 1 box of new undrawn frames, which are the same size frames as your brood box. (If a few of these are partially drawn, empty frames, this also helps.)

Conditions:


  • No feeding
  • Frames are all the same size
  • Start about 3 weeks before you usual Swarm Season (or when you see Drone Brood).
  • Do every 2 weeks until bees are drawing out multiple combs in the New Box.
  • New frames have a Hole large enough for the bees to want to fill it.
Purpose:

OSBN is a Swarm Prevention method for Beekeepers who have enough Bee Hives
(IE, when you don't want to do Splits and make more Bee Hives)
AND for New Beekeepers or Second Year Beekeepers especially those who don't have any spare, empty comb coming into spring.


Aim:

To get the bees building comb in a New Box/Super before swarm season starts, to help reduce swarming and to get a honey crop.

Objectives:

1. Develop Wax Makers well before Swarm Season.
2. Maintain wax making throughout Swarm Season and into the Main Flow.
3. Encourage enlargement of the Broodnest until the Main Flow.


OPENING THE SIDES OF THE BROODNEST


Steps:


  1. About 3 weeks before your usual Swarm Season, move each outermost frame from a brood box up into the middle of a New Box (of undrawn Frames), placed directly above the Broodnest. (So that 2 Frames have moved up.)
  2. Insert a New Frame (with a large "hole") on each outside edge of the Broodnest of the brood box. So that Brood frames are only on one side of each new frame. (2 new frames inserted.)
  3. Check the Hive in 2 weeks and repeat the steps if comb has been at least partially drawn on the New Frames in the Brood Box. (2 Frames moved up, 2 Frames inserted into the Broodnest.) You will now have 4 Drawn Frames that have been moved up into the New Box.
  4. Check again in 2 weeks. The New Box should now be mostly drawn. You can repeat the steps again with another New Box on top.

PLEASE NOTE:



  • The New Frame can be empty drawn comb or foundation, but should have a large "hole" that is equivalent to at least 1/4 of the frame. You can just cut off the bottom corners off the comb or foundation.
  • The Hole will be filled with Drone Comb.
  • If the outermost Broodbox frames are moldy, you may wish to remove them completely and not put on a new box until the third step.
  • If you want the bees to use the honey on slightly moldy frames, then move them up to a new box, but have at least a few frames of foundation between them. The frames will usually get emptied out.
  • You can start doing this method as soon as Drones are starting to be raised and the weather forecast for the next week is warm.
  • For the bees to move into a box, I have found it best to have at least 3 or 4 drawn combs together, in the middle of the new box. When there is less than 3 frames in a box and not together, they usually get emptied out. So if you have a spare drawn comb, the more the better.
  • The timing of 2 weeks is for deep frames. If you use mediums, the times will be shorter and can be more like 1 week.
  • Best to use all the same size frames.
  • As a guide for when to start Opening the Sides of the Broodnest. I would start around half way through the period between Cherry blossoms and Apple blossoms. The period between these blossoms is quite long where I live, as much as 2 months. If it is around 1 month for you then you may initially need to use drawn comb instead of a partial frame of foundation. (Some areas still have snow around at this time.)

I have been working on this method for several years now and wish I had known about it when I first started out beekeeping. Give it a go and let us know how it goes for you.
 
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#31 ·
Thank you Gopher Knoll Farm! That's fantastic to see.

For those who are not sure, this is the frame that was used for OSBN, see the worker Brood in the middle and Drone Brood on the right side.



As you can see, the Foundation was done with Lauri's style partial frames. Note: With vertically cut foundation you will often get the bees leaving a gap beside the edge.
This is why I suggest using the Wedge shape foundation for OSBN frames. (If others can post how the Wedge shape is drawn out that would be great to show.)

Also, I can see that a Comb Guide was not used along the Top Bar because of the way that the side Drone comb areas are attached along the Top Bar.
So it's not the best looking frame, because of those things. But it did the job of Triggering Wax Makers! So it did the job.

All that new white wax getting drawn out in the Super looks absolutely brilliant!

Thank you again!
 
#32 ·
Also, note the dark Drone Comb on the right side of the frame.
This is OLD wax that the bees have moved from elsewhere in the hive and reformed into comb.

So the right side of the frame is where they first started building comb.

This is why I say to do the manipulation the 2nd time, as the first manipulation may not actually be enough to Trigger Wax Making, because the bees are moving and reforming old wax.
Also, you are getting another round of new, younger Wax Makers as the older ones mature and start foraging.
 
#34 ·
Aran, of course you can use a starter strip of foundation, but you will find that most of the comb will be drawn out as Drone comb, so you can end up with several hundred or even thousands of Drones in the hive because of it.

Look at the photo above, and you see that the 1/4 width space on both the right and left side - where there was no worker foundation, has been drawn out as Drone comb.

The Wedge shape foundation means you get mostly Worker Brood comb in the oval shaped area in the middle where the queen will lay.
The Trapezoid shape will give the best results, only thing is it uses 1 sheet of Foundation, instead of 1/2 a sheet with the Wedge shape.
 
#35 ·
Talk about beekeeping being local! Matt stated in the first post "As a guide for when to start Opening the Sides of the Broodnest. I would start around half way through the period between Cherry blossoms and Apple blossoms. The period between these blossoms is quite long where I live, as much as 2 months. If it is around 1 month for you then you may initially need to use drawn comb instead of a partial frame of foundation. (Some areas still have snow around at this time.)"

In my area the time between cherry blossom and apple blossom is much less. Last year the cherries in my yard were in full bloom on April 19 and the early apples were in full bloom on April 25. The late apples were in full bloom on April 28th. Every year since I started keeping records of bloom times, the cherries and the apples bloomed between 5 and 10 days apart. Both happen right in the middle of swarm season. My swarm season is roughly the entire month of April and a few days in early May. Knowing when your swarm season starts is the key. Clearly Seattle, Washington and Victoria, Australia have very different climates and timing.

Matt, thanks for keeping this lesson going for another year. The technique is an essential beekeeping skill.
 
#36 ·
Wow, that is a quick transition to Spring. Thanks Dudelt.

Yes, the timing before Swarm Season will be your best guide. It takes several days for the bees to start making wax and then a few weeks to draw out a New Box.
So I would focus more on doing it 3-4 weeks before you first Swarms usually starts.

Another guide is the amount of Brood. I am looking for around 5-6 Deep Frames (or equivalent) with some Brood on them.
4 Frames of Brood or less is a bit early, so maybe only do 1 side of the Broodnest.
7 or more Frames of Brood is getting a bit late, but I would still do it to try triggering Wax Making.
 
#37 ·
Re: squarepeg 2015-2019 treatment free experience

It's great to hear how you are doing.

I was wondering if you would be interested in trying Opening the Sides of the Broodnest on one of your hives this year and compare it to your Checkerboarded Hives.
It sounds like it would be time to start doing that in your area in a couple of weeks.
Matt,

I am planning to use your OSBN techniques with a mentee who has two hives, each in 2 10-frame medium boxes. He has no spare comb.

I will also be trying it with an 8 frame hive in my own yard. I used Walt Wright's method with 8-frame mediums last year, but the bees had other ideas.

I'll post the results here, and try to get some pictures along the way:

https://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?350601-clong-2018-2019-Treatment-Free-Experience&p=1700049#post1700049
 
#39 ·
I'm modifying Step 5 to be more straight forward:

5. Throughout Swarm Season ensure that there is at least 2 Undrawn Frames in each Box, placed close to the Broodnest. This is to maintain Wax Making by getting the young bees to draw out new comb. (These Frames can be full sheets of foundation.)


So from the previous examples:


RESULT AFTER THE 4TH WEEK FROM STARTING

NDDBBBBDNN
BBBBBBBBBD

Partial Frames have been mostly drawn and have some Brood. Brood on the bottom of the Old Drawn Frames in the New Box, bees have become established into the New Box and drawing out New Frames of Foundation.


It is now Swarm Season

A new Box needs to be added because of the amount of Brood. The population is increasing rapidly at this stage the bees need the space to expand into.

For example: 6 frames of Capped Brood will emerge after 2 weeks and occupy at least 12 or more Frames. Some say even more, more like 3 Frames of Bees for every Frame of Capped Brood.


3RD OSBN MANIPULATION (Step 5)
NNNNDDDNNN
NDBBBBBNNN
NBBBBBBBBN



In order to keep 2 Undrawn frames in the Bottom Box, the first Brood Frame was moved up beside other Brood Frames. Then 3 Drawn Frames are moved up into a New Box on Top.


Depending on the amount of Nectar and Pollen coming in will depend on how many frames get drawn out in the next 2 weeks.
 
#41 ·
Only the 4 OSBN Frames will have some Drone comb and mostly just the first 2 of those. The rest of the frames are Full sheets of Foundation.

Once the bees have enough Drone comb they build worker comb. This reduces the amount of burr comb between boxes too.

Some people cut off the Drone comb to reduce Mites as the Mites prefer Drone Brood. The bees then draw out worker comb.

From the end of Swarm Season I move these frames to the outermost edge or up into the top Brood Box so it gets filled with honey. Then harvest those frames, cut off the Drone comb and crush and strain.
 
#44 ·
Here are a couple of photos from 2013.
This is from the first hive that I tested with Opening the Sides of the Broodnest.

It was Wintered with one 10 Frame Brood Box. 2nd Box was added a couple of weeks before Swarm Season.

The photos are 4 weeks into Swarm Season and coming back after the 2nd manipulation.

At the time I was testing with frames having only a Starter Strip of Wax Foundation across the full width of the Top Bar (with 2 vertical Bamboo Skewers instead of Wire).


Here is a Frame from the Top Box (2nd Brood Box) 4th frame in.
See how mostly just the outer bottom edges are Drone Comb, whilst the majority of the center and top is Worker Comb (all from just a 1" Starter Strip):





The next photo is a frame from the Outer Edge of the Top Box, notice that it is all Worker Comb (also notice the Wax Makers):


 
#45 ·
Just a note on cutting off Drone comb from frames used for OSBN.

If you cut off the bottom of cells that contain a Worker egg or young larvae, you may end up with Queen Cells being made.

So if you do cut off the Drone comb, check the frame 1 week later (no more than 10 days) for Queen Cells.
If you want, you could use the frame for a Split.

A Split will drawn out new comb as Worker size comb.
 
#46 · (Edited)
Based on what I see when I start Opening the Sides of the Broodnest, here is more on the Timing on when to start (Medium Frames have been estimated based on Deep Frames):

Temperatures
Night time: 40°F / 5°C or above
Day time: 55°F / 13°C or above

Brood - Capped and Open Brood (50% of Box)
10 Frame Deep: 5 or more Deep Frames
2 x 10 Frame Mediums: 10 or more Medium Frames

Frames of Bees (90% of Box)
10 Frame Deep: 9 or more Deep Frames
2 x 10 Frame Mediums: 18 or more Medium Frames

Drone Brood being raised.

Pear Trees in blossom.
 
#47 ·
(Sorry to do this again, but it's a work in progress.)

In the previous post the number of Mediums is too high, so it needs to be changed.


I'm trying to work out statements that can apply to Beehives of all different configurations and different environments.

From 5 frame Deeps Nuc, to 3x 8 Frame Mediums, to a Deep and Medium to 2x 10 Frame Deeps.


So I'm changing the Percentages to be about "the MAIN Brood Box" (the Box with the majority of the Brood), if there are more than 1 Box:


Start at least 3-4 weeks before you usual Swarm Season.

Temperatures

Night time: 40°F / 5°C or above
Day time: 55°F / 13°C or above


Brood - Capped and Open Brood (50% of the Main Brood Box)
10 Frame Deep: 5 or more Deep Frames
2 x 10 Frame Mediums: 5 or more Medium Frames in the Main Brood Box


Frames of Bees (90% of the main Brood Box)
10 Frame Deep: 9 or more Deep Frames
2 x 10 Frame Mediums: 9 or more Medium Frames in the Main Brood Box


Drone Brood being raised.


Note:


3 Weeks before Swarm Season is the most important point related to Timing.

Once there is less that 3 weeks to Swarm Season then:

If the hive is not as strong as 50% Brood or 90% Frames of Bees (in the Main Brood Box), then Open up 1 (ONE) Side of the Broodnest with a Partial Frame of Foundation.

If the hive is very weak, IE. 30% Brood or less and 50% Frames of Bees or less, then check if there is a Honey Dome around the Broodnest. There should not be frames of Capped Honey on both sides of the Broodnest. If there is Capped Honey restricting expansion, then swap the positions of those frames with mostly empty comb, or scratch the cappings.
 
#48 ·
Matt, thank you for the effort you are putting into this. Very helpful.
I started trying your method last year and I use a 1/2 sheet of plastic foundation in the middle and cut out the drone comb on each end as they make it. I have to admit that I never noticed worker comb near the bottom, but I could have missed it and cut it out. But, I am curious why they would start building QC if you cut it out.
My limited experience is after I cut out the drone comb, they then build worker comb. Thanks again. J
 
#49 · (Edited)
But, I am curious why they would start building QC if you cut it out.
I also found this detail referred by Matthew very interesting. I suspect that the reason for this bees' behavior is with that we create conditions / stimuli similar to those of the Miller's method for raising queens: eggs or larvae on the edges of the comb.
 
#50 ·
With cutting Drone Comb, I'm talking more about cutting beside the Wedge shape Foundation because it is on a diagonal.
This is where the Worker size Cells on the Foundation transitions to Drone comb built below it.
There is a chance that you can cut off the bottom wall off Worker Cells that contain eggs or young larvae.

The bees may see this as a Queen Cup, and once started a Queen Cup may be made into a Queen Cell.

This is the same principle as Notching with On the Spot Queen Raising (OTS) http://www.mdasplitter.com/
(By the way this is why I called Opening the Sides of the Broodnest OSBN instead of OTS)

Another recent Thread discusses this principle: https://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?352591-The-Harbison-Method-of-Queen-Rearing

The reason I mention it is because I actually made a Split and used OTS to raise Queen Cells a few weeks ago.
One of the frames had a bit of Cross Comb which got torn off when I lifted it out of the hive.
A week later I found that one Queen Cell had been made where the comb had been torn.
 
#51 ·
Thank you Matthew for the explanation.
What you say confirms my suspicion that eggs and worker larvae at the edges of the recently cut comb can become a stimulus for bees to make queen cells. In my opinion a detail of great importance not only for those who use your OSBN method but also for those who cut part of the combs with drone brood for the control of varroa mites, and can leave cells with a workers' eggs or larvae at the combs edges.
 
#53 ·
We have gone through most of our hives at this point, opening the sides with the cut-out frames. All have built comb to fill the holes, although not all are pulling white wax yet. Most, however, are pulling at least some white wax in the medium honey supers. Just to remind you, we are pretty new (4th spring) and have very little pulled comb to use for checkerboarding, etc., so getting the bees involved in pulling comb has been a primary goal. This system has been awesome toward accomplishing that.

We did try using a medium foundation frame in a deep box as a second manipulation to open sides in one box. It didn't work at all. The bees ignored it completely. No pulling of any comb at all on it. Not even burr comb to fill in the bottom.

Question: Several hives had 5 or 6 queen cups along the bottom edge of the upper brood box (no larvae - not peanuts, just small cups). None of these hives showed any sign of congested brood nest or honey dome. They were not backfilling the brood nest. So.... does the existence of these cups indicate swarm preparation? We removed the cups, but if they are planning to swarm, I'm sure that wouldn't slow them down.
 
#54 ·
So.... does the existence of these cups indicate swarm preparation?
On my hives, by rule, it is a sign of a strong one that may enter into swarming mode in the near future (about two weeks later). But some do not go into swarming mode. It is not an unmistakable sign of swarm preparation on my hives.
 
#55 ·
That's fantastic to hear they are all building comb.

Yes a full sheet of foundation will often get ignored. Just helps to prove that new frames needs to be a partial foundation.

With queen cups, I've found all hives to make them, especially in swarm season. More so in stronger hives. It doesn't mean they preparing to swarm. They seem more to me to be made "just in case".

Well done!
 
#62 ·
With queen cups, I've found all hives to make them, especially in swarm season. More so in stronger hives. It doesn't mean they preparing to swarm. They seem more to me to be made "just in case".

Well done!
To follow up on this: We were out of town and couldn't get back to the hives for two whole weeks. Most of the hives now had queen cups (not peanuts) but now many had growing larvae in them. Do you read that as a swarm cell in progress? Those hives were not otherwise congested and the queen had laying room. This is prime swarm season in our area and main bloom is only a week or so away. We did traditional cut-down splits on these and made sure each had plenty of supering. All the hives have pulled an extraordinary amount of new comb (up to two medium supers almost complete) before our main nectar flow - so that awesome. But a little frustrated that even those that were not congested seem ready to swarm. These hives are fairly hot and we are in Texas where africanized genetics are always a part of the picture so I'm wondering if they are simply a little more prone to swarming.

We had three hives that we thought would have plenty of room to grow with just one additional medium super above. We were wrong. These hives had completely pulled the top super, filled it with honey and built real queen cells (peanuts) in preparation for swarming. I'll accept that - they were congested and honey domed. Just didn't expect them to do so much so early in the season. We did snelgrove splits on these.

A couple of hives that had more space had only dry queen cups and we used OSBN once more on those hives and let them be.
 
#56 ·
Using smaller frames with foundation in a Deep Box seems to be a bit hit and miss.

Thanks Eduardo for this photo:
https://www.beesource.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=46799&d=1552864893

The response of Wax making/Comb building appears to be related to if the bees in the Brood cluster are having to hang on and hold onto each other like when they are clustering in a swarm.

With a smaller frame of foundation, it may be enough of a bridge that they don't need to hang and hold onto each other.

I would assume a Shallow frame would work better than a Medium frame in a Deep Box, for example.
 
#57 ·
It would be great to see more photos or videos, especially showing the first frame to be drawn out.
Thanks to those who have already contributed.

In particular I'm looking at how much of the initial comb is built using re-purposed old comb.

I remembered this video on Youtube from Tom 4 years ago. He also used a Medium Frame in a Deep Box to trigger Wax Making:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clN9ZnXOZLc

He talks about the new comb having eggs.
 
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