[jtcweb]

I got a 5 frame nuc about June first and for 6 weeks they didn't draw out any comb. I then put in a foundationless frame and in two weeks they had completely filled the frame (except for a little in the corners) with comb.

 

[Oldbee]

Not enough information about the nuc to jump to that conclusion right off the bat. It almost sounds like those scientists that 'cook' their data to prove their theory and conveniently leave out important information.

 

[sqkcrk]

I got a 5 frame nuc about June first and for 6 weeks they didn't draw out any comb. I then put in a foundationless frame and in two weeks they had completely filled the frame (except for a little in the corners) with comb.

Probably because it is "seemless".

A little in the corners? That's what I would expect. That's how they build almost all of the miniframe combs that I sell for comb honey. That's what combs look like "naturally", not built out into the corners, but somewhat rounded off.

Did you put only one foundationless frame into a box of foundationfilled frames? Have they done anything w/ the foundationfilled frames now?

 

[SwedeBee1970]

That's wonderful ! Foundation-less frames are very reasonably priced and much less effort to assemble/maintain. I wish all my colonies did that. The thing that I've found out is if you don't support the foundation with wire, fishing line or whatever, the heat, bees and gravity will distort the stuff and the bees will work around it, making a mess of things.

 

[Oldbee]

"I got a 5 frame nuc about June first and for 6 weeks they didn't draw out any comb."

Southern [Kalamazoo] Michigan, June 2010. [probably including Ypsilanti]

“This year we had rain 20 days out of the 30, twice as many rainy days as usual, and when it did rain, we got a lot of rain,” Hackman said. He tallied 9.25 inches in his National Weather Service rain gauge tube on Ninth Street, making this the second rainiest June he’s seen in the 56 years he’s been tracking weather. “1978 had 10 inches of rain, but 7.5 inches fell in two days that year,” Hackman said. > http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/06/dry_july_rainy_june_leaves_ple.html

Too much rain and cool weather will inhibit bees in comb building and foraging for nectar and pollen; raising brood. Younger bees of the right age for wax secretion.

Other missing information:
Did the nuc start with an already mated queen or a capped queen cell?
Did you put them in a 10 frame box with plastic foundation or wax foundation?
Did you feed sugar syrup in the beginning or did you wait until you took out the undrawn foundation and added the foundationless frames?
Did the nuc supersede the mated queen at some point?

I am glad they eventually built the comb.

 

[jtcweb]

Since I have been a beekeeper for two months now, nothing I say can be taken as conclusive evidence of anything I’ll look again in another week and see if they have done anything on the frames that have foundation, but not drawn comb.

 

[jtcweb]

Comments in Red

"I got a 5 frame nuc about June first and for 6 weeks they didn't draw out any comb."

Southern [Kalamazoo] Michigan, June 2010. [probably including Ypsilanti]Close enough, we have had more rain than normal

“This year we had rain 20 days out of the 30, twice as many rainy days as usual, and when it did rain, we got a lot of rain,” Hackman said. He tallied 9.25 inches in his National Weather Service rain gauge tube on Ninth Street, making this the second rainiest June he’s seen in the 56 years he’s been tracking weather. “1978 had 10 inches of rain, but 7.5 inches fell in two days that year,” Hackman said. > http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/06/dry_july_rainy_june_leaves_ple.html

Too much rain and cool weather will inhibit bees in comb building and foraging for nectar and pollen; raising brood. Younger bees of the right age for wax secretion.

Other missing information:
Did the nuc start with an already mated queen or a capped queen cell?
Mated, laying Queen
Did you put them in a 10 frame box with plastic foundation or wax foundation?
I put them in the middle of a 10 frame box with 5 frames of plastic foundation (thats what I had, the hive body was given to me with plastic foundation frames)
Did you feed sugar syrup in the beginning or did you wait until you took out the undrawn foundation and added the foundationless frames?
I tried feeding the sugar syrup, but the really didn't take much of it so I stopped.
Did the nuc supersede the mated queen at some point?
Not that I can tell, but I don't know enough to be able to figure it out. We haven't been able to find the queen, but every time we open up the hive and look we see eggs, or at least think we do. Of course if someone cannot spot a queen can they really tell there are eggs?

I am glad they eventually built the comb.
Me Too, I found it exciting