[KGBee]

Hello,

I picked up some mann lake frames for my first hive, and I installed them with a 5 frame nuc I purchased. I was wondering what kind of issues people have had with these and how they use them successfully.

I put 2 frames on either side of the nuc and on my first inspection they had drawn out a flattened mushroom shaped comb. Normal comb on the outside, but with passageways underneath near the foundation. When I installed my second super I had this occur again. Am I leaving too much space between frames? I currently have 9 frames in each super, should I be using 10 to reduce the space between foundation?

Cheers,

KGBee

 

[NasalSponge]

If they are not drawn out frames you must start with 10 frames or you violate bee space. Once they are drawn out you can reduce to 9 if you want. Remove the out of place comb and add a frame.

 

[KGBee]

Thanks for the confirmation, that's what I thought it was. Now that I think of it, it makes sense because where they build the layer of comb would corrispond to where the foundation should have been if the frames were properly spaced.

 

[jbford]

i put some of these on and some Pierco . the bees took to both of them well with no seeming difference of acceptance with the differing cell sizes...

 

[Mike Gillmore]

I just tried about 90 of the PF-120's this year and I was pleasantly surprised at how nicely they work. The comb is perfect and the bees displayed no hesitation drawing it out. Make sure that all 10 frames are pushed together tightly and you should have no problems with wild comb.

 

[iwombat]

Some packages take to it right away, some go off-pattern until they get a chance to regress one generation. You can then remove those initial frames, or just rotate them to the outside. Introducing them to an existing colony already on the 5.4 cell size is pretty much a mixed bag of results.

 

[pgayle]

I have a question: is there a problem with hive beetles hiding in the grooves on the side bars?

second question: if they make a mess of drawing it out, can you scrape it and start over?

 

[KQ6AR]

The frames should be shoved together tight in the middle of the box. The outside frames will be drawn a little thicker, but that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Mike Gillmore]

I have a question: is there a problem with hive beetles hiding in the grooves on the side bars?

That's a great question. The same thought crossed my mind when I first bought them. There seem to be a lot of recesses in the frames where beetles could hide out. I don't have a problem with hive beetles here so I don't know the answer to that one.

second question: if they make a mess of drawing it out, can you scrape it and start over?

Sure, just like any other plastic foundation. Just scrape it off and start over.

 

[Countryboy]

I have a question: is there a problem with hive beetles hiding in the grooves on the side bars?

I doubt it is any worse of a problem than SHB hiding in empty cells...

 

[beemandan]

I have a question: is there a problem with hive beetles hiding in the grooves on the side bars?

I don't know if it makes the problem any worse but they surely give the beetles a convenient place to escape from the bees. If beetles get into empty cells, the bees can reach and harrass them. When one piece frames are pushed together, the grooves in the outer edges create a nice, cozy, out of the way spot to evade the bees.
I still have some in my hives but am rotating them out as quickly as possible.

 

[Michael Bush]

Then again maybe the grooves are a place for the bees to corral them...