I am a new beekeeper (less than one year). My bees will not build on plasticell no matter what I do. I have checkerboarded, sprayed them with sugar syrup, painted them with more wax, fed the bees as much sugar and syrup as they would eat for weeks at a time. They just hate plasticell. I decided to switch to wax foundation and I bought some wire and some of those metal sleeves that go in the holes in the frame to keep the wire from pulling through the wood.
I have about 20 shallow supers with frames that I got a great deal on. I have read on here that bees build comb most quickly when foundationless frames are used and I am considering doing that instead. I thought I would string the wire onto the frames so that the comb would be stablized and would not fall out when centrifuged. My questions are: Has anyone used fouondation less frames? How did it work for you? Is the wire necessary to keep the comb stable? and will the wire intefere with the bees making comb along the frame? Any information would be appreciated.
I have about 20 shallow supers with frames that I got a great deal on. I have read on here that bees build comb most quickly when foundationless frames are used and I am considering doing that instead. I thought I would string the wire onto the frames so that the comb would be stablized and would not fall out when centrifuged. My questions are: Has anyone used fouondation less frames? How did it work for you? Is the wire necessary to keep the comb stable? and will the wire intefere with the bees making comb along the frame? Any information would be appreciated.